THE  DAWN  OF  A 
NEW  ERA  ;/i  SYRIA 


MARGARET  M£GILVARY 


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in  2007  with  funding  from 

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The  Dawn  ot  a  New  Era  in  Syria 


«    ««."«*« 


The  Dawn  of  ii1^^ 
Era  in  Syria 


By 

MARGARET  McGILVARY 

Secretary  Beirut  Chapter  Red  Cross 


ILLUSTRATED 
Cover  design  and  maps  by 

LANICE  PATON  DANA 


New    York  Chicago 

Fleming    H.    RevcII    Company 

London  and  Edinburgh 


FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  17  North  Wabash  Ave. 
London :  ai  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:      75    Princes    Street 


To 

ALL  THOSE  BRAFE  AMERICANS 

and 

LOTAL-HEARTED    STRIANS 

who  laboured  for  Syria  in  her  darkest 

hour  in  the  faith  that  dawn   would 

surely  succeed  the  night 


50i)88U 


Preface 

MANY  of  our  favourite  books  have  been 
written  "  by  request."  A  little  boy  once 
said  to  a  famous  author,  "If  you  will  write 
me  a  book  about  animals,  my  father  will  print  it." 
The  result  was  the  "  Just  So  Stories." 

It  is  impossible  to  estimate  how  many  people  have 
sought  out  the  American  residents  in  Syria  with  ques- 
tions in  regard  to  their  experiences  during  the  war. 
Newspaper  reporters,  directors  of  relief-campaigns, 
and  agents  of  political  propaganda  have  been  clamour- 
ing for  stories,  for  statistics,  for  facts  pertinent  to 
this  or  that  particular  issue.  It  is  evident  that 
America  is  interested  in  Syria,  and  those  of  us  who 
are  concerned  with  Syrians  welfare  feel  that  we  can 
do  her  no  greater  service  than  to  introduce  her  to  the 
American  public.  Geographically  this  land  is  regarded 
in  America  as  a  "  remote  corner  of  the  globe,"  and 
perhaps  there  are  comparatively  few  at  home  who 
realize  the  numerous  ties  which  bind  the  United  States 
to  this  small  land  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean. American  philanthropy  has  been  pouring 
millions  of  dollars  of  American  money  into  Syria 
during  the  last  five  years.  Moreover,  within  the  last 
nine  months  the  question  has  arisen  of  an  intimate 

7 


8  Preface 

political  relationship  between  the  two  countries.  If 
this  little  volume  answers  any  questions,  and  succeeds 
in  arousing  an  interest  in  this  struggling  nation,  it  will 
amply  fulfil  its  purpose. 

I  have  been  greatly  handicapped  by  the  fact  that  for 
years  there  has  been  no  comprehensive  treatise  on 
Syria.  If  I  may  judge  by  my  own  scanty  informa- 
tion before  I  came  here  to  live,  the  average  American 
knows  very  little  of  the  geography,  the  government, 
the  economy  of  the  country,  its  wartime  experiences, 
or  its  present  problems.  Any  book  on  Syria,  however 
simple,  must  supply  these  deficiencies.  For  this  rea- 
son I  have  been  forced  to  treat  certain  subjects  more 
in  detail  than  would  otherwise  have  been  necessary. 

"Ambassador  Morgenthau's  Story "  is  the  only 
authoritative  work  on  Turkey  during  the  war  that  has 
been  published.  I  purposely  refrained  from  reading 
this  book  until  I  had  completed  my  own,  as  I  wished 
to  avoid  influence  upon  my  point  of  view.  In  one  or 
two  instances  I  have  verified  my  information  by  re- 
ferring to  his  discussion  of  such  technicalities  as  the 
Capitulations,  but  in  all  such  cases  I  have  cited  Mr. 
Morgenthau  as  my  authority.  If  there  are  other  points 
of  similarity,  it  is  purely  accidental. 

I  am  under  special  obligation  to  my  uncle  and  my 
aunt,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  A.  Dana ;  and  but  for  their 
encouragement  and  generous  interest  I  doubt  whether 
I  should  have  had  the  courage  to  undertake  the  task. 
Mrs.  Dana  has  given  me  invaluable  assistance  in  the 
preparation  of  certain  chapters  on  subjects  where  her 
information  was  more  complete  than  mine.    Mr.  Dana 


Preface  9 

has  allowed  me  free  use  of  records  of  Press-work  and 
relief-activities  and  has  set  no  limit  to  my  use  of  facts 
regarding  certain  of  his  personal  experiences  which 
have  been  little  known  outside  of  our  family  circle. 

I  am  also  indebted  to  my  uncle,  Lewis  Bayles  Paton, 
Professor  in  Hartford  Theological  Seminary,  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut,  for  revising  the  manuscript  and 
reading  proof. 

M.  McG. 

'Aleih,  Lebanon. 


Contents 

I.  The  Closing  of  a  Highway  of  the  Na- 

tions      17 

Syria  the  most  isolated  country  in   the  world 

during  the  Great  War. 
Turkey  closes  every  door  to  outside  help. 

II.  The  Disintegration  of  Syria  ...      27 

At  the  msrcy  of  the  Turks. 

Physical,  racial,  and  religious  divisions  in  Syria 
cause  lack  of  national  unity. 

Turkey  and  Germany  introduce  plan  of  starva- 
tion. 

III.  Foreign  Guests  of  the  Sultan  in  Syria  .      38 

Modern  Crusaders. 

The  Capitulations — a  ring  in  the  nose  of  the 
bull. 

IV.  Mobilizing  an  Elusive  Army    .        .        .      52 

Bombardment  of  Belgrade  signal  for  Turkish 

mobilization. 
Germany's  hand  on  the  rudder. 
Economic,  financial,  and  political  chaoi  in  Syria. 
Germany  and  the  Jehad, 
Germany  and  the  Capitulations. 
Entente  campaign  against  Turkey  a  side-issue. 

V.  Abrogation  of  the  Capitulations   .        .      73 

Mistreatment  of  consular  officials. 
Deportation  of  belligerents. 

VI.  The  American  Red  Cross  to  the  Rescue      82 

American  position  unique  and  enviable. 
Civilian  relief  and  two  hospital  units. 
xz 


1 2  Contents 

The  arrest  of  an  American  philanthropist. 
Relief  work  in  Lebanon. 
The  ship  that  never  came. 

VII.  The  American  Mission-Press  in  a  New 

Role 97 

What  it  was  before  the  war. 

Converting  a  print-shop  into  a  banking  house 

and  relief-bureau. 
The  persecution  of  the  Manager. 

VIII.  Syrian  Philanthropy  FROM  Abroad  113 

Transfer  of  funds  from  America  to  Syria  through 
the  American  Press. 

The  American  Dollar  in  Turkey. 

The  dramatic  side  :  humour,  pathos,  tragedy. 

The  deportation  of  a  Syrian  patriot  and  philan- 
thropist. 

IX.  Unjust  Stewards 133 

Personalities  regarding  Enver,  Talaat,  and  Jemal 

in  their  relation  to  Syria. 
A  Twentieth  Century  Herod. 
An  assassin  for  Chief  of  Police. 
Two  Governors  of  Lebanon. 
Governors  of  Aleppo  and  Damascus. 

X.  The  Effect  in  Syria  of  America's  En- 

trance INTO  THE  War  .         .        .        .157 

Turkish  police  close  American  institutions. 

Smuggling  ^40,000  past  Turkish  guards. 

The  departure  from  Syria  of  American  repre- 
sentatives. 

The  Chief  of  Police  orders  resumption  of 
American  Press  activities. 

How  a  German  cooperated  in  American  relief- 
work. 

Why  Jemal  Pasha  protected  the  Syrian  Protes- 
tant College. 


Contents  13 

XL        Hysterical  and  Historical  Excitements     167 

Financial  flurry,  naval  activities,  aerial  attacks, 
the  destruction  of  a  submarine  in  Beirut  har- 
bour, evacuation,  deportation,  the  locusts. 

Signals  to  the  enemy.     A  hidden  wireless. 

Spies. 

The  arrest  of  the  entire  American  Mission. 

Court  Martial  of  two  Americans  from  Armenia 

Typhus. 

Hiding  provisions  in  a  Phoenician  well. 

XII.  19 1 7 — The  Year  of  Horror    .         .         .189 

Relief  work   continued   without  funds  by   the 

American  Mission. 
Americans  as  arbiters  of  life  and  death. 
A  nation's  struggle  against  extermination. 
The  history  of  an  average  Lebanon  family. 

XIII.  How  an  Englishman  Kept  Four  Thou- 

sand Syrians  Alive      ....     209 

An  operation  and  a  toothache  remove  barriers 
to  relief  work. 

A  visit  to  the  Brummana  Soup-Kitchen. 

Bayard  Dodge  saves  thirty  villages  from  starva- 
tion. 

XIV.  The  Deportation  and  Imprisonment  of 

the  Director  of  American  Relief  in 
Syria 235 

Azmi's  jealousy  of  American  philanthropy. 

Journeying  as  a  prisoner  through  Anatolia  in 
midwinter. 

First  impressions  of  Constantinople. 

W.  S.  Nelson  and  C.  A.  Dana  in  War  Depart- 
ment prison. 

An  unexpected  release. 

The  new  Sultan. 

Decline  of  German  prestige  in  Turkey. 

The  collapse  of  the  Central  Powers. 

The  Armistice  and  the  end  of  Turkey. 

Home  again. 


14  Contents 

XV*      The  Dark  Hour  Before  the  Dawn         .    263 
The  worst  year  of  the  war. 

XVI.    Dawn — The  Day  of  Syria's  Liberation    .    274 

Syria  in  ignorance  of  military  eventi. 
Watching    the    Palestine   campaign   from   the 

Capital. 
The  flight  of  the  Germans  and  Austrians. 
Allen  by '3    crusade    seen   from   the   heights   of 

Lebanon. 
Deposing  the  Turkish  Governor  of  Beirut. 
The  triumphal  entry. 

XVIL  The  New  Day  .....    286 

Syria's  fate. 

Syria's  dependence  on  America's  friendship, 

50,000  Syrians  in  destitute  homes. 

Syria's  right  to  self-determination. 

Will  America  stand  by  "  The  Fourteen  Pointi "  ? 


Illustrations 

Beirut  and  the  Lebanon  Mountains  .  FrontUpiea 

Facing  page 

Miss  McGilvary,  Mr.  Dana,  Mrs.  Dana,  Dorothy 

Dana,  at  their  Summer  Home  in  *Aleih     .         ,       22 

28 

V- 

4a 
54 
86 
100 
100 
X04 
114 
130 
158 
158 
196 
206 
258 
258 
280 
282 
284 


Bedouin,  or  Nomad  Arabs       .         •         •         • 

Map  of  Syria 

The  American  Mission  in  Syria       .         • 
Map  of  Lebanon  and  Adjacent  Districts 
Hospital  Unit,  Beirut  Chapter,  American  Red  Cross 
Unloading  Paper  for  American  Press        •         • 
Sending  Publications  to  Steamer       .         •         « 
Two  Arabic  Compositors  of  the  American  Press 
American  Press  Administrative  StafF        •         ^ 

Assad  Kheirallah « 

American  Mission  Compound,  Beirut,  Syria  , 
American  Summer  Residences,  'Aleih,  Lebanon 
Typical  Starvation  Cases  .  .  .  • 
Scenery  in  the  Lebanon  Mountains  .         • 

The  Entente  Fleet  in  the  Sea  of  Marmora        • 
The  Fleet  at  Anchor  in  the  Bosphorus     . 
The  First  British  to  Enter  Beirut    .         • 

Omar  Bey  Daouk 

General  Allenby  and  StafF  at  the  Dog  River     . 


THE  CLOSING  OF  A  HIGHWAY  OF  THE 
NATIONS 

SYRIA  was  perhaps  the  most  completely  isolated 
country  in  the  world  during  the  Great  War. 
As  the  result  of  an  almost  ironical  series  of  cir- 
cumstances this  land  which  for  so  many  centuries 
played  such  an  important  role  in  history  was  for  prac- 
tically four  years  hidden  behind  a  drawn  curtain. 
This  "  bridge  of  the  world,"  as  it  is  sometimes  called, 
this  highway  between  Asia  and  Africa  for  the  con- 
quests and  commerce  of  nations,  became  for  the  first 
time  in  recorded  history  as  much  out  of  touch  with 
the  trend  of  world  events  as  the  bleak  plains  of  Pata- 
gonia, or  Lapland, 

The  history  of  Syria  is  in  itself  practically  a  resume 
of  the  history  of  civilization  from  its  earliest  begin- 
nings to  the  present  day.  The  Turkish  Empire  as  it 
existed  before  this  last  great  war  included  areas  which 
were  more  richly  endowed  with  the  heritage  of  the  past 
than  any  other  portions  of  the  world's  surface.  Meso- 
potamia probably  cradled  the  earliest  civilization. 
Egypt  contains  the  richest  and  best-preserved  records 
of  a  highly  developed  ancient  culture.  Arabia  and 
Syria,  both  former  Turkish  provinces,  gave  birth  to  the 
three  great  religions  of  the  world,  Isl^m,  Judaism,  and 

17 


l8  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Christianity.  Jerusalem  is  the  shrine  of  all  these  re- 
ligions, and  Moslem,  Jew  and  Christian  jostle  each 
other  in  the  narrow  streets  of  the  Holy  City  and  con- 
test with  fanatical  hatred  for  the  ownership  of  the 
places  that  are  sacred  to  all  three  sects  alike.  The 
name  of  this  remote  and  crumbling  Oriental  city  is 
familiar  to  "  people  and  realms  of  every  tongue,"  and 
the  ignorant  Russian  peasant  who  has  scarcely  heard 
of  Moscow  and  Petrograd  is  nevertheless  hoarding  his 
savings  for  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem. 

The  historian,  the  Bible  student,  the  archaeologist, 
the  statesman  must  all  include  within  their  professional 
equipment  a  comprehension  of  the  history  of  Syria  and 
its  problems.  In  some  respects  Syria  is  the  most  back- 
ward country  in  the  world,  and  might  almost  be  re- 
garded as  an  exhibit  in  the  museum  of  time.  A  large 
majority  of  the  peasant  population  of  the  Holy  Land 
to-day  cultivate  their  soil  and  conduct  their  social  life 
just  as  their  ancestors  did  three  thousand  years  and 
more  ago.  Many  of  the  agricultural  implements  and 
the  household  utensils  have  not  been  altered  in  the 
slightest  particular  from  those  which  are  described  in 
the  Bible.  Old  tribal  customs,  especially  among  the 
Jews,  still  prevail,  and  the  traveller  is  constantly  im- 
pressed with  a  sense  of  unreality  as  if  he  were  observ- 
ing animated  tableaux  illustrating  a  long-loved  book 
as  he  sees  at  every  turn  the  episodes  of  Biblical  history 
reproduced  in  the  life  of  the  modern  inhabitants  of  the 
"  Bible-land." 

In  this  respect  Syria  is  the  land  "  where  all  things 
always  seem  the  same  " ;  and  yet,  on  the  other  hand. 


The  Closing  of  a  Highway  of  the  Nations     19 

Syria  is  the  one  spot  still  left  on  the  face  of  the  earth 
with  which  the  world-peace  settlement  has  not  yet  been 
able  to  cope.  It  was  a  comparatively  easy  problem  for 
the  Entente  to  agree  upon  the  terms  under  which  Ger- 
many and  Austria  should  be  reinstated;  but  one  item 
of  the  docket  with  which  the  Conference  must  deal 
before  its  work  is  finished  promises  endless  difficulties, 
and  may  even  sow  the  seeds  of  discord  between  the 
parties  of  the  Entente.  That  item  is  the  disposal  of 
Syria.  The  searchlight  of  the  world  is  turned  in 
Syria's  direction.  There  are  a  score  of  conflicting  and 
powerful  political  forces  at  work,  and  the  task  of 
evolving  an  equitable  solution  from  the  chaos  of  greed 
bids  fair  to  prove  well-nigh  impossible.  To  the  mind 
of  the  Jews  the  hour  has  sounded  for  their  rcestablish- 
ment  in  the  land  of  which  they  were  centuries  ago 
despoiled.  For  the  Arabs  the  time  has  come  to  assert 
their  claims  over  the  vast  territory  which  is  theirs  by 
right  of  prevailing  race  and  language.  The  Syrians 
are  clamouring  for  independence.  England  and  France 
and  Italy  have  each  political  or  commercial  aspirations 
which  make  the  possession  of  Syria  highly  desirable, 
and  America  stands  in  that  awkward  position  of  being 
the  sponsor  of  Syria's  choice,  an  invitation  which  she 
cannot  disregard  in  view  of  the  famous  "  Fourteen 
Points." 

Hov/ever  much  the  existence  of  Syria  had  to  be 
reckoned  with  by  the  various  combatants  in  the  con- 
flict, its  real  internal  life  during  the  war  was  prac- 
tically unknown  to  the  world.  Outsiders  saw  in  the 
newspapers  little  mention  of  other  than  military  events 


ao  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

in  Syria.  Some  may  have  been  stirred  by  appeals  to 
help  the  starving  Syrians,  but  how  many  realized  that 
the  suffering  was  not  due  entirely  to  the  exigencies  of 
war  but  to  the  deliberate  attempt  of  the  rulers  to  ex- 
terminate a  subject  race?  Those  within  the  country 
felt  themselves  growing  almost  daily  further  out  of 
touch  with  the  march  of  world  events.  The  great 
majority  of  these  also  realized  that  they  were  prisoners 
who  faced  both  indignity  and  starvation.  In  one 
sense,  all  who  remained  in  Syria  during  the  war, 
whether  voluntarily  or  otherwise,  were  prisoners. 
Foreigners  and  Syrians  alike  found  themselves  fettered 
by  lack  of  funds,  materials,  ways  and  means ;  by  gov- 
ernment regulations  and  interference;  and  they  were 
in  danger  of  mental  stagnation,  and  even  death  from 
disease,  famine  or  torture.  Those  were  very  dark 
hours.  Like  a  night  during  sickness  they  dragged  on, 
and  it  seemed  that  the  dawn  would  never  break. 

In  Roman  times  Syria  was  the  granary  of  the  world 
which  encircled  the  Mediterranean,  and  she  is  still 
capable  of  producing  wheat  to  feed  that  little  world. 
Yet  in  our  day,  during  the  reign  of  a  few  Turkish  gov- 
ernors, some  of  whom  were  eminently  suited  to  the 
worst  Roman  era,  one-half  the  population  of  Syria  was 
wiped  out  entirely  through  disease  and  starvation. 
Even  Belgium  and  Serbia,  which  probably  suffered  as 
heavily  as  any  of  the  small  countries  engaged  in  the 
war,  cannot  show  as  high  a  percentage  of  mortality 
due  to  these  causes. 

Probably  no  part  of  the  world  contained  also  in  so 
small  an  area  representatives  of  so  many  nationalities 


The  Closing  of  a  Highway  of  the  Nations     21 

as  did  Syria  at  the  beginning  of  the  war.  Her  in- 
ternal life,  therefore,  during  the  war  presented  not  only 
the  problems  of  her  Syrian  inhabitants,  a  race  subject 
at  that  time  to  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  but  also  certain 
peculiar  features  in  relation  to  the  foreign  residents. 
The  vicissitudes  of  the  latter,  as  seen  by  the  writer  of 
this  book,  form  a  part  of  the  story  which  cannot  be 
lightly  told. 

These  pages  are  written  in  Lebanon  during  the 
peaceful  summer  of  1919;  and  although  the  surround- 
ings are  identical  with  those  in  which  the  events  of  th^ 
war  occurred,  everything  has  been  so  altered  since  the 
British  occupation  less  than  a  year  ago  that  we  some- 
times wonder  whether  it  was  a  dream  after  all.  We 
use  the  words  "  during  the  war  "  as  if  we  were  refer- 
ring to  an  epoch  which  we  can  only  dimly  remember. 
So  rapidly  does  one  adjust  oneself  to  new  conditions! 

I  came  out  to  Syria  in  the  spring  of  1914,  having 
just  graduated  from  college,  to  work  as  secretary  to 
my  uncle,  Mr.  Charles  A.  Dana,  Manager  of  the  Amer- 
ican Mission  Press  in  Beirut.  The  offer  particularly 
tempted  me  for  I  understood  that  life  in  Syria  was 
peculiarly  rich  and  delightful,  affording  many  oppor- 
tunities for  travel  in  the  Near  East.  Moreover,  as  a 
point  of  contact  with  the  outside  world  it  could  scarcely 
be  equalled.  "Everybody  that  is  anybody  "  eventually 
visits  the  Holy  Land,  just  as  every  one  visits  Paris ;  but 
in  Beirut,  unlike  a  great  city  like  Paris,  the  small  Amer- 
ican community  is  privileged  to  entertain  and  become 
well  acquainted  with  the  distinguished  guests  who  are 
constantly  passing.     Since  one  must  always  behold  the 


22  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

greater  part  of  the  world  in  a  mirror,  it  seemed  to  me 
there  was  no  better  place  than  Syria  for  a  Lady  of 
Shalott. 

I  had  been  in  Syria  only  four  months  when  the  war 
began,  and  I  then  discovered  that  I  had  chosen  as  my 
residence  for  the  next  two  years  and  eight  months  the 
most  out-of-the-way  corner  of  the  world,  instead  of 
the  greatest  highway.  However,  life  there  held  ample 
recompense  for  its  isolation.  In  my  position  at  the 
American  Press  I  was  in  constant  touch  with  the  prob- 
lems of  relief -work,  and  I  came  to  know  and  love  the 
land  and  the  people  in  a  way  that  is  possible  only  in  a 
community  which  is  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  world. 

I  have  incorporated  into  this  book  some  sections  of 
reports  of  the  Beirut  Chapter  of  the  American  National 
Red  Cross  which,  as  secretary  of  that  organization 
from  1914  to  1917,  it  was  my  task  to  prepare  for  the 
main  office  in  Washington. 

In  the  fall  of  1917  Mr.  Dana  was  deported  from 
Beirut,  owing  to  the  hostility  of  the  Turkish  Governor, 
Azmi  Bey;  and  the  Dana  family,  including  myself, 
spent  the  last  year  of  the  war — one  of  many  downs 
and  ups — in  Constantinople,  returning  to  Beirut  in  the 
spring  of  1919. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Great  War  Beirut  was  the 
third  city  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  a  flourishing  port 
with  an  extensive  trade.  Though  it  has  no  great  his- 
torical past  like  Damascus,  its  story  is  not  lacking  in 
interest.  It  was  an  ancient  Phoenician  settlement,  and 
as  such  enjoyed  a  flourishing  trade  with  Egypt,  Tar- 
shish,  and  the  Greek  islands.    It  eventually  passed  un- 


MISS  McGILVARY,  MR.  DANA,  MRS.  DANA 

DOROTHY  DANA 

AT  THEIR  SUMMER  HOME  IN  'ALEIH 


The  Closing  of  a  Highway  of  the  Nations     23 

der  Roman  control,  which  marked  the  beginning  of  the 
most  prosperous  period  of  its  history.  After  its  cap- 
ture by  the  Arabs  in  635  a.  d.  it  remained  Moslem  until 
1111,  when  Count  Baldwin  took  it  for  Christendom. 
In  1187  it  was  recaptured  by  §alah-ed-din  (Saladin), 
and  has  since  then  been  nominally  under  Moslem  rule, 
although  for  one  period  of  many  years  it  was  the  seat 
of  the  rebel  government  of  the  Druze  Emir,  Fakhred- 
din.  From  that  time  on  until  comparatively  recent 
years,  whoever  its  nominal  rulers  have  been,  it  has  been 
under  the  influence  of  the  Druze  Emirs  of  Lebanon. 
In  October,  1918,  it  was  recaptured  a  second  time  for 
Christianity  by  the  Egyptian  Expeditionary  Force  un- 
der General  Sir  Edmund  AUenby. 

Never  in  all  this  history  of  capture  and  recapture 
has  Beirut  been  so  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  world 
as  during  the  past  four  years.  The  neighbouring  coast 
city  of  Jebail,  the  ancient  Gebal,  was  besieged  by  the 
Assyrians,  but  was  in  constant  touch  with  Egypt  dur- 
ing the  whole  siege ;  Tyre  was  besieged  fifteen  years  by 
Alexander,  and  still  maintained  her  sea-trade.  Yet  in 
our  day  not  only  the  coast  cities,  but  the  whole  of  Syria 
was  utterly  cut  off  from  the  outside  world  and  was  the 
victim  of  disease,  of  starvation,  and  of  tyranny. 

Syria  from  its  location  is  naturally  a  highway. 
Generally  outlined,  it  occupies  the  entire  coast  of  the 
most  eastern  extremity  of  the  Mediterranean.  It  ex- 
tends from  the  Taurus  Mountains,  which  border  Asia 
Minor,  to  Egypt  and  the  Arabian  Desert,  and  inland  to 
Mesopotamia.  All  traffic  from  the  coasts  of  Asia 
Minor  must  pass  through  its  northern  portion.     Xeno- 


24  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

phon's  Ten  Thousand  filed  through  the  Cilician  Gates 
into  Syria  on  their  march  toward  Mesopotamia  in  the 
days  of  the  younger  Cyrus,  just  as  did  the  troops  of 
Von  der  Goltz  on  their  expedition  to  Bagdad.  Hit- 
tites,  Assyrians  and  Egyptians  centuries  ago  met  and 
clashed  in  Syria,  for  it  was  the  roadway  to  and  from 
their  respective  kingdoms.  North  of  Beirut  the  deep 
gorge  of  the  Dog  River  affords  one  of  the  easiest 
passes  from  the  coast  into  the  heart  of  Lebanon.  As- 
syrians, Babylonians,  Hittites,  Egyptians,  Greeks  and 
Romans  have  all  passed  that  way.  Near  the  mouth  of 
the  river  the  cliffs  are  covered  with  inscriptions  in  al- 
most every  tongue  known  to  antiquity  cut  into  the 
solid  rock,  some  so  worn  by  time  that  one  can  scarcely 
distinguish  the  queer,  antique  figures,  others  remark- 
ably well  preserved.  Napoleon  III  left  his  tablet 
there.  The  most  glorious  and  most  recent  inscription 
is  that  of  General  Sir  Edmund  AUenby,  placed  there 
soon  after  the  British  occupation  of  Beirut. 

In  recent  years  Syria  has  become  of  strategic  value 
as  the  one  connecting  link  between  the  capital  of  the 
Turkish  Empire  and  its  most  easternly  provinces,  as 
well  as  Its  nominal  dependency,  Egypt.  Germany 
recognized  this  and  knew  also  that  by  maintaining  the 
Bagdad  Railway  and  her  colonies  in  Palestine  she 
could  always  menace  any  possible  concession  to  Eng- 
land for  a  railroad  which  would  carry  mail  and  trade 
by  the  shortest  possible  route  from  Europe  to  Persia 
and  India. 

When  the  war  began  the  first  step  in  the  separation 
of  Syria  from  the  world  was  the  severance  of  connec- 


The  Closing  of  a  Highway  of  the  Nations     25 

tion  with  Egypt,  which  cast  in  her  lot  with  the  Entente 
by  declaring  herself  independent  of  Turkey.  Next 
came  the  cessation  of  maritime  commerce  as  one  by  one 
the  European  countries  broke  relations  with  the  Otto- 
man Empire;  and,  six  months  after  Turkey  herself 
entered  the  war,  scarcely  a  ship  was  seen  save  an  oc- 
casional distant  French  or  British  cruiser  patrolling  the 
coast.  Then  Mesopotamia  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
British;  but,  as  a  wide  desert  separated  that  part  of 
Asia  from  Syria,  no  military  advance  was  made  be- 
yond Bagdad,  and  no  connection  existed  between  the 
British  army  and  the  eastern  border  of  Syria.  There 
remained  only  the  slender  thread  of  the  railway  which 
connected  Syria  with  the  government  at  Constanti- 
nople. This  was  controlled  by  the  Turks  and  the  Ger- 
mans; hence  Syria,  cut  off  on  three  sides,  was  at  the 
mercy  of  her  hostile  rulers  and  their  equally  hostile 
allies  who  held  the  fourth  side. 

Germany  cared  nothing  for  Syria  save  as  a  pos- 
sible future  German  colony  and  as  a  buffer  against 
Egypt.  The  Turkish  Government  bore  no  love  for  its 
province  whose  Arab  and  Syrian  population  was 
frankly  disaffected.  Germany  encouraged  the  isola- 
tion of  Syria  as  a  whole  in  order  to  further  her  larger 
schemes  which  included  the  complete  disintegration  of 
the  Ottoman  Empire.  Turkey  seized  the  opportunity 
to  vent  her  barbaric  instincts  and  to  harass  and  murder 
a  nation  she  hated,  and  in  order  to  accomplish  this  she 
closed  every  possible  door  to  outside  help  through  the 
mails  or  otherwise.  For  these  reasons,  Turkey  was 
cut  off  from  all  save  her  allies;  and  had  Bulgaria  not 


26  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

entered  the  war  on  the  side  of  the  Central  Powers,  the 
Ottoman  Empire  would  have  been  completely  encircled 
by  enemies,  and  would  soon  have  fallen  into  the  power 
of  the  Entente.  As  it  was,  Syria  became,  partly  by 
force  of  circumstances,  and  partly  through  concerted 
action,  completely  isolated. 

Those  four  years  when  Syria  was  entirely  segre- 
gated from  the  rest  of  the  world  formed  the  blackest 
period  of  her  history.  Just  as  the  darkest  hours  pre- 
cede the  dawn,  and  in  sickness  the  vitality  is  at  lowest 
ebb  in  the  early  morning  hours  and  the  pulse  weakens 
like  a  candle  flickering  in  the  wind,  so  the  flame  of 
Syria's  national  life  was  scarcely  sustained.  When 
dawn  came  at  last,  it  found  Syria  very  weak  but  still 
alive,  and  ready  and  eager  to  face  a  new  future. 


II 

THE  DISINTEGRATION  OF  SYRIA 

NO  small  part  of  the  difficulties  in  Syria  during 
the  war  was  due  to  the  fact  that  she  was  at 
the  mercy  of  the  Turk  so  far  as  her  one 
connection  with  the  outside  world  was  concerned,  and 
this  largely  because  of  the  form  of  government.  Tur- 
key changed  in  1908  from  an  absolute  to  a  constitu- 
tional monarchy  governed  by  the  Sultan  and  a  parlia- 
ment consisting  of  delegates  from  the  various  prov- 
inces. As  a  matter  of  fact,  between  1915  and  1918  a 
large  number  of  these  delegates  never  reached  Con- 
stantinople, or,  if  there,  were  so  out  of  touch  with 
their  constituents  that  there  was  little  representation 
in  the  true  sense  of  the  term.  The  real  power  rested 
in  the  hands  of  the  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress 
which  had  smothered  the  ambitions  of  the  Young 
Turk  Party  that  had  aspired  to  at  least  a  nominally 
liberal  government,  and  which  controlled  the  Sultan, 
the  Cabinet,  Parliament  and  the  majority  of  the  pro- 
vincial governors.  The  Triumvirate  of  the  Committee 
of  Union  and  Progress  were  Talaat  Pasha,  Minister 
of  the  Interior;  Enver  Pasha,  Minister  of  War;  and 
Jemal  Pasha,  Minister  of  Marine  and  later  Military 
Governor  of  Syria.  Of  these  more  anon. 
Each  of  the  large  areas  in  Turkey,  such  as  Mesopo- 

27 


28  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

tamia,  or  Syria,  was  divided  into  smaller  sections  called 
vilayets  under  control  of  a  Governor-General,  or  Vdli,^ 
who  was  responsible  only  to  the  Sultan;  or  in  other 
words,  to  the  control  of  the  Committee  of  Union  and 
Progress.  During  the  military  regime  in  Syria  the 
Vdlis  were  limited  in  their  functions  by  the  power  of 
the  Military  Governor.  The  vilayet  contained  four 
graded  subdivisions  the  officials  of  which  were  all  re- 
sponsible to  the  Vdli.  The  vilayet  boundaries  for  the 
most  part  followed  some  logical  geographic  divisions. 
However,  Beirut  Vilayet,  in  which  we  lived,  contained 
three  separate  areas  around  Beirut,  Sidon  and  Tripoli, 
where  the  Province  of  Lebanon  extended  to  the  sea- 
coast  and  cut  into  it  in  two  places,  and  a  fourth  part 
comprising  Nablus  in  Palestine.  The  Vilayet  of  Beirut 
which  included  so  many  detached  sections  is  only  one 
of  a  dozen  illustrations  of  how  Syria  was  through  her 
government  and  through  her  very  nature  internally  dis- 
integrated. 

One  of  the  chief  causes  of  this  disintegration  was 
the  physical  character  of  Syria.  There  are  two  prac- 
tically parallel  ranges  of  mountains  extending  through 
almost  its  entire  length.  The  first,  or  Western  Range, 
is  near  the  coast,  with  which  it  is  connected  by  a  chain 
of  coastal  plains  of  greatly  varied  widths.  The  sec- 
ond, or  Eastern  Range,  is  on  the  side  toward  the 
Syrian  Desert.  Between  these  is  a  narrow  depression, 
or  rift,  which  is,  at  the  Dead  Sea,  the  lowest  level  on 
the  face  of  the  earth.  Thus  at  almost  any  point  where 
you  cross  Syria  going  eastward  you  find  five  parallel 

^  Turkish— Vilayet  and   Vdli;  Arahic—Wildyeh  and   Wdli. 


The  Disintegration  of  Syria  29 

bands:  coastal  plain,  mountain,  rift,  mountain,  des- 
ert. 

The  diversity  of  surface  in  Syria  produces  an  equal 
diversity  in  climate,  and  this  diversity  is  paralleled  by 
the  variety  of  races  and  religions.  The  bulk  of  the 
population  of  Syria  is  Arab  in  origin,  and  is  of  two 
general  classes,  the  settled,  or  Felahin,  and  the  no- 
madic, or  Bedouin. 

The  settled  population  is  of  very  mixed  blood.  It 
includes  the  Syrians,  by  which  we  mean  the  descend- 
ants of  all  those  peoples,  except  the  Jews,  who  spoke 
Aramaic  at  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era.  This 
stock  is  modified  by  an  admixture  of  Arab  and  Cru- 
sader blood,  and  its  language  is  now  Arabic  The 
Syrians  present  a  great  diversity  of  types.  There  are 
the  half-nomad,  crude  farmer  folk  of  the  borderland 
between  civilization  and  the  desert,  the  more  advanced 
farmer  class  of  the  mountain  districts,  the  conservative 
inhabitants  of  the  inland  cities,  and  the  fairly  cosmo- 
politan people  of  the  coast  cities.  Scattered  through 
nearly  all  these  classes  is  a  gradually  increasing  leaven 
of  education. 

Besides  the  divisions  created  by  location  and  by 
occupation  there  are  still  others  created  by  religion. 
In  America  one  asks,  What  is  a  man's  profession?  In 
Syria,  What  is  his  religion?  Some  of  the  Syrians  be- 
came Moslems  at  the  time  of  the  Turkish  conquests, 
but  a  very  large  proportion  are  still  Christians.  The 
latter  are  of  many  denominations,  often  with  antago- 
nistic interests.  Probably  the  foremost  bodies  among 
them  are  the  Greek  Orthodox  and  the  Maronites,  the 


30  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

latter  adherents  of  a  modified  form  of  the  Roman 
CathoHc  Church.  The  Maronites  have  long  been  sym- 
pathetic with  French  interests  in  Syria;  and  together 
with  the  Druzes,  their  rivals,  are  destined  to  play,  in 
the  immediate  future,  a  prominent  part  in  the  life  of 
their  country. 

The  Druzes  are  a  mixed  race,  mostly  of  Arab  blood. 
They  possess  a  secret  religion  which  may  be  termed  a 
mixture  of  IslAm  and  Christianity  in  a  more  or  less 
esoteric  form.  They  also  believe  in  a  series  of  incar- 
nations of  the  soul  after  death  until  its  final  absorption 
into  the  Deity.  The  Druzes  formerly  lived  in  feudal 
state  under  Sheikhs,  who  were  in  turn  subject  to 
Emirs.  They  rose  to  power  in  the  early  part  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  maintained  their  supremacy 
until  1860.  Numerically  they  are  still  the  strongest  of 
the  non-Christian  sects  in  Lebanon,  and  they  cherish  a 
deep-rooted  hatred  of  the  Christians  which  finds  fre- 
quent vent  in  local  feuds.  Practically  all  the  Moslems 
in  Lebanon  are  heretical,  and  are  probably  as  antago- 
nistic toward  the  orthodox  adherents  of  IslAm  as  they 
are  toward  the  Christians.  While  the  Druzes  are  the 
most  numerous  of  the  schismatic  sects,  there  are  a 
number  of  others,  notably  the  Mutawailehs,  and  the 
Nusairiyeh. 

This  bird's-eye  view  of  the  principal  racial  and  re- 
ligious divisions  in  Syria  shows  how  lacking  the  coun- 
try is  in  national  unity.  When,  owing  to  the  exi- 
gencies of  war,  internal  communications  were  reduced 
to  the  minimum,  or  in  some  parts  entirely  suspended, 
the  physical  and  racial  characteristics  of  Syria  were 


The  Disintegration  of  Syria  31 

such  that  parts  of  the  country  became  as  much  cut  of! 
as  oases  in  the  desert  which  caravans  rarely  touch. 
Hence,  while  Syria  is  not  large,  we  in  Beirut  were 
practically  out  of  contact  with  certain  regions  com- 
paratively near  us.  Other  sections,  however,  claiming 
attention  for  their  very  isolation,  had  in  a  marked  de- 
gree a  bearing  on  the  internal  situation  of  the  country 
during  the  war. 

Most  travellers  approaching  Syria  by  sea  usually 
notice  first  the  character  of  its  coast ;  for  if  the  sea  be 
rough,  they  may  not  be  able  to  land.  The  coast  is 
regular  and  possesses  no  good  harbours,  even  Beirut 
with  a  port  in  the  sheltering  curve  of  St.  George's  Bay 
offers  but  fickle  entrance  in  bad  weather.  The  striking 
feature  of  the  Syrian  seaboard  along  half  its  length  is 
the  mountains  which  seem  to  rise  abruptly  from  the 
sea. 

There  are,  however,  about  eight  maritime  plains 
whose  location  is  indicated  on  the  map  by  the  larger 
rivers  or  by  the  more  important  seaboard  towns  which 
have  naturally  developed  near  them.  A  narrow  strip, 
in  some  places  scarce  wide  enough  for  a  roadway,  con- 
nects these  plains.  The  close  proximity  of  the  moun- 
tains on  one  side  and  of  the  sea  on  the  other  makes  the 
scenery  varied  and  lovely.  Now  and  again  the  level 
areas  expand  into  tracts  of  great  fertility  whose  abun- 
dant yield  of  fruit,  vegetables,  and  other  crops  supplies 
the  needs  of  the  coast  cities  and  provides  them  with 
produce  for  export.  Except  in  two  large  plains  south 
of  Mt.  Carmel  there  is  little  grain  raised  near  the  sea, 
which  explains  why  the  coast  of  Syria  north  of  Pales- 


32  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

tine  is  dependent  on  the  interior  for  its  main  slaple, 
wheat. 

On  leaving  the  coast  and  entering  the  mountains  one 
finds  another  distinct  area,  the  Lebanon  district.  It 
derives  its  name  from  the  Lebanon  Mountains — some- 
times erroneously  spoken  of  as  Mount  Lebanon — a 
mighty  range  which  begins  northeast  of  Tripoli  and 
extends  approximately  to  a  region  east  of  Sidon  and 
Tyre.  The  Lebanon  Mountains  contain  the  highest 
peaks  of  the  Western  Range  in  a  ridge  called  Dahr-el- 
IJIodib,  southeast  of  Tripoli.  The  rugged  nature  of 
the  country  with  its  high  mountains  and  steep-sided 
valleys  has  produced  a  hardy,  energetic  race  of  moun- 
taineers, physically  vigorous,  honest  and  free-spirited. 

The  antagonism  between  the  Druzes  and  the  Maron- 
ites  early  resulted  in  lack  of  cohesion  in  the  Lebanon, 
and  foreign  intrigue  and  Turkish  hatred  of  all  Chris- 
tian subjects  played  upon  the  religious  feud.  The 
Moslem  Government  first  covertly  incited  the  Druzes 
against  the  Christians,  and  then  openly  abetted  them. 
As  a  result  of  this  plotting,  the  Lebanon  Mountains  be-f 
came  in  1860  the  scene  of  a  tragedy  so  horrible  that 
the  Foreign  Powers  realized  the  necessity  for  prompt 
and  effective  intervention.  In  this  year  occurred  the 
massacre  of  the  Christians  by  the  Druzes  in  some 
scores  of  Lebanon  villages  and  the  slaughter  of  about 
three  thousand  Christians  in  Damascus.  During  that 
reign  of  terror  the  foreign  residents  underwent  a  most 
anxious  time.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Ottoman 
Government  would  do  nothing  to  restore  order,  the 
European  Powers  found  it  necessary  to  intervene  in 


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The  Disintegration  of  Syria  33 

Lebanon,  which  was  occupied  by  S0,000  foreign 
troops,  about  half  of  which  were  French. 

The  French  occupation  continued  till  1861  when  the 
Sublime  Porte  was  forced  to  accede  to  an  arrangement 
which  would  tend  to  lessen  quarrels  between  the  Chris- 
tians and  the  Druzes.  Even  after  the  withdrawal  of 
foreign  troops,  French  and  English  naval  squadrons 
cruised  along  the  coast  for  months,  just  as  they  did 
from  1916  to  1918  for  other  reasons.  Lebanon  was 
constituted  a  Privileged  Province  by  statute  of  Sep- 
tember 6, 1864,  with  an  autonomous  government  under 
the  protection  of  the  five  Great  Powers:  England, 
France,  Italy,  Austria,  and  Germany.  The  Governor 
of  Lebanon  was  to  be  a  Christian,  a  just  precaution 
considering  the  fact  that  three-fourths  of  the  popula- 
tion were  Christians,  and  arrangements  were  made  for 
the  gradual  withdrawal  of  the  Druzes  from  the  juris- 
diction of  the  State. 

In  1914,  when  the  Ottoman  Empire  broke  relations 
with  the  Entente  Powers,  Lebanon  ceased  to  be  re- 
garded as  an  Independent  Protectorate.  It  was 
ranked  as  an  Independent  Mutaserrifiyeh  and  given  a 
Moslem  Governor,  or  Mutaserrif,  responsible  to  the 
Sultan.  Curiously  enough,  while  the  Turk  violated 
during  the  Great  War  every  other  treaty  he  had  ever 
signed,  for  some  unknown  reason  he  respected  the 
exemption  of  the  Lebanese  from  military  service.  Up 
to  within  the  last  few  years  Lebanon  had  her  own 
army  of  only  a  few  hundred  men,  and  no  Lebanese 
could  be  drafted  for  service  in  the  Turkish  army.  The 
Lebanese  uniform  was  not  unlike  the  Zouave,  and  it 


34  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

was  so  novel  a  sight  as  to  impress  the  traveller  as  al- 
most an  anachronism  to  see  these  husky  mountaineers 
in  their  blue  and  red  uniforms,  with  little  bolero  jackets 
and  full,  baggy  trousers,  standing  guard  along  the 
roads,  or  sauntering  about  the  stations  as  the  trains 
pulled  in. 

It  was  always  with  a  sense  of  relief  that  one  crossed 
the  vilayet  boundary  and  passed  into  the  region 
guarded  by  these  Lebanese.  The  Lebanon  roads  were 
always  in  better  condition  than  those  which  the  vilayet 
was  supposed  to  care  for,  and  the  very  people  seemed 
of  a  finer  type  as  soon  as  one  entered  Lebanon.  Dur- 
ing the  war  they  were  so  fortunate  as  to  have  Turkish 
governors  that  were  reasonable  and  conscientious.  All 
Munif  Bey,  later  Minister  of  Public  Works,  and  Ismail 
Hakki,  former  Turkish  Counsellor  in  Egypt,  both  tried 
to  deal  as  fairly  by  their  province  as  the  Turkish  Gov- 
ernment and  certain  unavoidable  circumstances  would 
permit.  Yet  Lebanon  suffered  more  heavily  during 
the  years  of  the  war  than  any  other  part  of  Syria. 
Practically  three- fourths  of  her  population  of  approxi- 
mately half  a  million  were  wiped  out  by  starvation. 

The  reason  for  this  was  that  the  rugged  Lebanon 
district,  unfit  for  much  level  cultivation,  raised  only  a 
small  fraction  of  the  wheat  necessary  for  her  popula- 
tion. For  their  income  the  Lebanese  depended  on  the 
sale  of  produce  from  their  small  farms  or  the  export  of 
their  silk.  Also  certain  villages  were  supported  by 
special  trades;  for  instance,  one  depended  on  silver 
filagree  work,  another  on  knife-making,  while  a  third 
made  nearly  all  the  bells  which  called  Christians  to 


The  Disintegration  of  Syria  35 

worship  from  Aintab  to  Sinai.  The  Entente  blockade, 
instituted  the  second  year  of  the  war,  caused  the  cessa- 
tion of  numerous  small  industries  such  as  those  just 
mentioned  and  the  temporary  destruction  of  the  silk- 
raising  industry,  inasmuch  as  all  the  silk  could  not  be 
marketed  in  the  country,  but  was  usually  exported  to 
France.  Later,  under  the  guise  of  military  necessity, 
Jemal  Pasha  confiscated  all  the  silk  that  he  could  lay 
his  hands  on,  and  he  used  as  his  agent  a  notorious  ras- 
cal, Tewfik  Bey.  The  poor  suffered  most  heavily,  as 
the  rich  were  able  to  give  large  enough  bribes  to  secure 
protection.  Still  another  cause  of  distress  was  the  fact 
that,  owing  to  the  complete  cessation  of  postal  commu- 
nication with  the  outside  world,  a  large  number  of 
Lebanese  were  deprived  of  external  sources  of  income, 
such  as  funds  sent  them  by  relatives  resident  in  Amer- 
ica or  in  other  countries,  or  bank  accounts  which  they 
had  established  abroad.  It  so  happened,  therefore, 
that  for  one  reason  or  another  whole  villages  were 
annihilated. 

The  Government  commandeered  wholesale,  without 
payment,  animals  for  transport  and  for  army  food 
supply.  People  dependent  on  their  sheep  or  mules  for 
support  were  impoverished,  and  there  were  no  longer 
enough  animals  for  the  transport  of  foodstuffs  from 
one  place  to  another,  a  serious  matter  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  the  railways,  being  in  Turkish  or  German 
hands,  were  available  only  for  military  use.  Farmers 
who  had  saved  seed-wheat  the  first  year  of  the  war 
were  forced  to  eat  it  the  second  summer,  and  by  the 
second  winter  Lebanon  was  bereft  of  wheat.     Her  dis- 


36  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

couraged,  almost  hopeless  population  found  their  coun- 
try isolated  by  reason  of  its  rugged  mountains  and  the 
desire  of  the  Turkish  Government  to  cut  it  off  from  the 
rest  of  Syria. 

Had  the  Turk  permitted  it,  the  whole  of  Syria  might 
have  been  fed  by  the  two  main  inland  areas,  the  vast 
level  tracts  in  the  Central  Depression  and  the  Hauran. 
Around  Aleppo,  Hama,  and  Homs  the  apparently  bare 
and  uninteresting  levels  are  capable  of  raising  a  great 
deal  of  wheat.  These  plains  during  the  war  were  en- 
tirely separated  from  each  other  and  from  the  rest  of 
Syria,  save  for  roads  over  mountain  passes  or  the  slen- 
der thread  of  the  railway  between  Aleppo  and  Reyak, 
the  only  means  by  which,  after  endless  difficulties  in 
the  matter  of  purchase,  permits,  and  car-space,  any- 
thing could  be  transported  from  this  region  to  other 
parts  of  Syria. 

Still  more  isolated  was  Hauran,  the  great  wheat- 
raising  region  of  Syria,  which  once  fed  half  the  Roman 
world.  The  plateau  of  Hauran  lies  south  of  Damas- 
cus and  adjacent  to  it  is  another  wheat  country,  Jeb- 
el  ed-Druz,  or  Druze  Mountain.  The  inhabitants  of 
this  part  of  Syria  are  partly  settled  Bedouin  tribes  and 
partly,  as  the  name  indicates,  Druzes.  They  have  al- 
ways retained  distinctive  tribal  characteristics  and  cus- 
toms, and  have  maintained  an  exclusive  and  often 
hostile  attitude,  at  times  quite  baffling  to  the  Turk. 
When  the  Gk)vemment  essayed  to  control  the  vast  sup- 
plies of  wheat  raised  in  Hauran  the  population  made 
endless  difficulties  and  even  concealed  quantities  of  the 
grain.    They  also  refused  Turkish  paper  money,  and 


The  Disintegration  of  Syria  37 

would  sell  only  to  buyers  who  could  offer  gold  "  with 
the  horse  on  it,"  t.  e.,  English  sovereigns  bearing  the 
mounted  St.  George  combating  the  dragon. 

Because  food  was  the  crying  need  of  all  Syria  during 
the  war,  these  parts  of  the  country  I  have  mentioned 
somewhat  at  length  were  constantly  in  the  minds  of  all 
of  us.  The  coast,  dependent  both  on  external  and  in- 
ternal trade  relations,  was  isolated  on  both  sides  and 
suffering;  Lebanon  was  segregated,  internally  dis- 
rupted and  starving;  the  two  sections  of  the  interior 
which  might  have  been  utilized  to  feed  the  rest  of  the 
country  were  forced  into  passivity  by  the  Turks. 
Moreover,  not  only  did  the  native  population  suffer  at 
the  hands  of  their  rulers,  but  there  was  scattered  all 
over  Syria  the  large  non-Syrian  element  mentioned 
earlier  in  this  book,  the  Armenians,  Jews,  Levantines 
and  foreign  residents,  whose  fortunes  were  bound  up 
in  the  fate  of  the  country,  and  whose  sufferings  were 
similar  to  those  of  the  Syrians. 

Not  only  did  each  separate  community  struggle  for 
existence,  but  Syria  as  a  whole  w^as  a  victim  because 
her  position  geographically  and  politically  facilitated 
her  becoming  a  closed  highway.  Her  inhabitants  suf- 
fered because  physically,  racially  and  politically  Syria 
was  isolated  and  lacked  cohesion.  The  Americans 
resident  in  the  country  felt  it  their  task  to  do  what  they 
could  to  alleviate  internal  conditions.  It  is  to  Turkey, 
however,  and  to  her  ally,  Germany,  that  Syria  owes  the 
fact  of  her  remaining  for  nearly  five  years  behind  a 
drawn  curtain. 


Ill 

FOREIGN  GUESTS  OF  THE  SULTAN  IN 
SYRIA 

MY  first  introduction  to  Syria  was  through  the 
letters  of  my  aunt  who  lived  there,  and  I 
was  perplexed  to  account  for  the  fact  that 
these  letters  bore  the  postage-stamps  of  any  one  of  five 
different  nations.  The  geographies  said  that  Syria 
was  a  Turkish  province,  but  what  could  be  the  status 
of  a  country  whose  postal  service  was  apparently  under 
international  control?  Later,  when  I  myself  went  to 
live  with  that  aunt  in  Syria,  I  learned  that  the  answer 
lay  in  that  half -mysterious  phrase,  "the  Capitula- 
tions,"— what  the  Capitulations  were  and  how  they 
affected  Turkey  will  later  be  discussed  in  detail.  The 
question  of  the  political  status  of  Syria  arises  in  the 
mind  of  each  new  arrival  in  the  land.  A  more  com- 
posite population  could  hardly  be  imagined,  and  unlike 
most  places  where  the  population  is  international,  in 
Syria  the  subjects  of  each  foreign  nation  maintain  to 
an  extraordinary  degree  the  integrity  of  their  national 
life. 

In  Crusading  days,  all  Europeans  were  grouped  by 
their  Eastern  opponents  under  the  title  of  Prank,  and 
to-day  a  corruption  of  the  term  still  exists  in  the 

38 


Foreign  Guests  of  the  Sultan  in  Syria        39 

Syrian  word  Pranji.  The  Syrians  themselves  have 
drawn  this  line  of  demarkation,  designating  as  Pranji 
any  Occidental,  European  or  American,  and  with  them 
the  word  is  practically  synonymous  with  foreigner.  It 
might  seem  that  the  result  would  be  a  social  homo- 
geneity among  the  Westerners  resident  in  Syria,  but 
such  is  not  the  case.  It  is  true  to  a  certain  extent  in 
the  smaller  places;  but  in  large  cities,  like  Beirut,  the 
foreign  population  as  a  whole  has  never  amalgamated. 
One  finds  oneself  speaking  of  "  the  French  colony,"  or 
the  "Anglo-American  community,"  and  each  one  of 
these  units  is  socially  self-sufficient.  True,  there  are 
frequent  occasions  when  all  forgather,  and  the  assem- 
bly takes  on  a  truly  cosmopolitan  character,  but  in  gen- 
eral, in  the  ordinary  world  of  social  life,  each  colony 
lives  very  much  unto  itself. 

The  East  has  always  been  attractive  for  the  Western 
world.  Its  lure  has  wooed  men  from  home  and  kin- 
dred to  endure  danger  and  hardships  in  a  hostile  land, 
and  this  siren  call  is  as  compelling  to  many  of  us  to- 
day as  it  was  to  our  ancestors  centuries  ago.  Long 
before  the  fire  of  religious  enthusiasm  roused  in 
Europe  the  determination  to  gain  possession  of  the 
shrines  of  the  Holy  Land,  trade  between  the  Occident 
and  the  Orient  had  existed  to  their  mutual  profit.  In 
the  beginning,  the  current  was  from  the  East  west- 
ward, for  civilization  matured  more  rapidly  in  the 
warm  Eastern  climes.  The  Phoenicians  who,  centuries 
before  the  Christian  Era,  were  masters  of  the  Syrian 
coast,  built  their  ships  and  ventured  forth,  even  beyond 
the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  into  the  boundless  ocean  of  the 


40  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

4 

West.  They  bore  their  treasures  to  that  little  isle 
which  we  now  call  England,  and  brought  back  with 
them  ores  and  furs  which  they  had  there  obtained  in 
fair  exchange.  Rome  turned  her  eyes  toward  the 
East,  and  seeing  that  it  was  good,  overthrew  great 
kingdoms  and  annexed  vast  tracts  of  territory.  Even 
among  the  Crusaders,  political  and  commercial  inter- 
ests were  paramount  over  their  enthusiasm  for  the  holy 
cause.  Especially  was  this  true  of  the  Fourth  Crusade 
{ 1204  A.  D. ) ,  which  Venice  actually  diverted  from  the 
Holy  Land  to  Dalmatia  and  Constantinople  for  pur- 
poses of  her  own  trade  and  by  secret  agreement  with 
her  Eastern  commercial  allies. 

The  vast  armies  of  Crusaders,  recruited  from  all  the 
countries  of  Europe,  and  comprising  men  of  all  walks 
of  life,  were  moved  by  varied  and  often  conflicting  in- 
terests. Shoulder  to  shoulder  with  the  religious  fa- 
natic marched  the  social  outcast  who  sought  to  obliter- 
ate the  memory  of  his  past  offences  against  society  by 
the  fame  of  his  prowess  in  a  holy  cause.  Their  tent- 
mates  were  an  adventurer,  restless  and  chafed  under 
the  humdrum  conditions  of  every-day  life,  and  a  pros- 
perous merchant  who  thought  in  terms  of  commercial 
profit 

The  same  impulses  which  prompted  men  of  wholly 
diverse  tastes  to  join  in  the  Crusades  have  brought  the 
modern  Westerners  to  the  Holy  Land.  Some  are  ac- 
tuated by  the  pure  spirit  of  missionary  zeal  and  re- 
ligious fervour,  others  by  the  no  less  altruistic  desire  to 
encourage  the  advance  of  these  less  progressive  coun- 
tries through  commerce,  agriculture,  and  the  develops- 


Foreign  Guests  of  the  Sultan  in  Syria        41 

ment  of  natural  resources.  Still  others  are  inspired 
solely  by  selfish  motives,  and  by  recognition  of  the  fact 
that  in  a  country  which  has  so  obvious  a  future  as 
Syria  it  is  well  to  be  first  on  the  scene.  According  as 
their  motives  have  been  laudable  or  deplorable,  the  in- 
fluence of  foreigners  on  the  country  has  been  beneficial 
or  unfortunate.  From  the  very  dawn  of  her  history, 
Syria  has  been  the  bone  of  contention  and  the  prey  of 
conflicting  desires.  She  has  been  the  victim  of  re- 
ligious fanaticism  no  less  than  the  object  of  crass  com- 
mercialism. She  has  been  riven  with  civil  dissension, 
and  has  been  rent  in  the  conflict  of  international  jeal- 
ousies. And  yet,  for  the  present,  her  salvation  lies  In 
the  beneficent  and  just  intervention  of  some  great 
power,  under  whose  mandate  she  may  learn  to  master 
her  own  forces,  and  develop  her  independence. 

Among  tlie  alien  races  which  have  exploited  Syria 
none  have  wrought  such  ravages  as  the  Turks.  The 
recent  history  of  the  country  has  been  one  long  succes- 
sion of  conflicts  between  Christianity  and  Isl4m,  and 
each  power  in  turn  has  worsted  the  other  and  assumed 
governmental  control.  During  the  twelfth  and  thir- 
teenth centuries  in  particular,  the  struggles  between  the 
two  religions  were  titanic,  and  Christian  kings  and 
Moslem  princes  succeeded  each  other  with  m.elodra- 
matic  rapidity.  The  later  Crusades  were  fruitless,  and 
after  the  failure  in  1248  of  the  Thirteenth  and  last 
Crusade,  IslAm  for  nearly  seven  centuries  was  never 
effectively  disputed.  Indeed,  until  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, foreign  Christians  were  barely  tolerated  in  the 
Holy  Land,  and  it  is  only  during  the  last  century  that 


42  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

they  have  gained  an  effective  foothold  there.  Very 
quietly  and  unostentatiously  Christian  influence  has 
spread  until,  with  the  British  occupation  in  1918, 
Syria  once  more  passed  into  Christian  hands.  So 
complete,  however,  has  been  the  transformation,  that 
the  population  is  no  longer  overwhelmingly  Moslem, 
although  the  Moslems  in  all  localities  but  Lebanon  are 
still  in  the  majority.  The  Crusade  of  the  last  few 
centuries  has  been  a  silent  one,  but  the  West  has  made 
its  contribution  of  men  and  resources  just  as  truly  as  it 
did  in  the  days  of  chivalry.  The  saint,  the  merchant, 
the  outlaw,  the  adventurer  are  still  to  be  found  among 
these  modern  crusaders,  and  all  the  races  of  the  Occi- 
dent are  represented  in  that  army. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  numbers,  the  influence  of 
the  Anglo-Americans  is  probably  greatest  in  Syria,  and 
as  the  aims  and  ideals  of  these  two  nations  are  not 
dissimilar,  it  is  fair,  up  to  a  certain  point,  to  treat  the 
two  as  one  for  purposes  of  discussion.  Previous  to 
the  war,  there  were  several  hundred  British  and  Amer- 
icans resident  in  Syria,  the  majority  of  whom  were  en- 
gaged in  missionary  and  educational  work.  From 
Jerusalem  to  Aleppo,  from  the  seacoast  to  the  wilder- 
ness east  of  the  Jordan,  in  the  mountains,  in  the  desert, 
and  on  the  fertile  maritime  plain  scores  of  mission  sta- 
tions were  scattered  In  an  important  city  like  Beirut, 
there  might  be  a  dozen  missions  operating  simulta- 
neourly  and  harmoniously,  carrying  on  evangelistic, 
educational,  medical,  and  social  work.  In  more  iso- 
lated spots  one  foreign  pastor  was  located,  or  one 
British  or  American  doctor  ministering  to  the  needs  of 


'db 


Foreign  Guests  of  the  Sultan  in  Syria        43 

the  district  by  his  efforts  as  a  touring  physician,  or  by 
the  maintenance  of  an  up-to-date  hospital.  In  still 
other  centers,  according  to  their  size,  a  school  or 
groups  of  schools  were  located. 

This  organized  mission-work  had  been  gradually  de- 
veloping in  the  country  during  the  last  hundred  years. 
In  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  first 
American  missionaries  penetrated  into  Syria,  and  be- 
gan their  work  on  the  same  far-reaching  scale  which 
the  present  century  has  elaborated  and  developed,  but 
has  not  radically  changed.  The  first  British  mission 
in  the  Holy  Land  was  established  about  the  same  time, 
and  so  rapidly  did  the  work  grow  that  at  the  opening 
of  the  war  there  was  hardly  an  important  city  in  Syria 
or  Palestine,  or  even,  one  might  say,  a  central  village 
that  was  not  a  base  for  missionary  operations. 

The  main  centers  of  missionary  activity  were,  natu- 
rally, the  largest  cities,  such  as  Beirut,  Damascus, 
Aleppo,  Jerusalem,  Jaffa,  Haifa,  Sidon  and  Tripoli. 
Other  towns  were  occupied,  however,  according  to  the 
opportunities  that  they  offered  for  contact  with  an  im- 
portant social  community.  In  a  little,  out-of-the-way 
town  in  Northern  Galilee,  for  instance,  there  is  an  in- 
dependent mission-worker  who  has  been  prompted  to 
'  vote  her  life  to  the  conversion  of  Jews ;  and  who  has 
chosen  this  particular  village  as  the  best  means  of  ac- 
cess to  a  large  Jewish  district.  To  Nebk  and  Deir 
'Atiyeh,  remote  villages  on  the  skirts  of  the  Syrian 
desert,  a  small  band  of  Danish  missionaries  has  pene- 
trated, largely  because  this  region  has  been  left  un- 
touched by  other  missionary  organizations.     Certain 


44  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

villages  in  Lebanon  have  been  chosen  because  they  are 
the  strongholds  of  the  Druzes,  others  because  they 
offer  access  to  some  of  the  more  inquiring  sects  of  Ori- 
ental Christians  who  have  begun  to  evince  an  interest 
in  the  Western  Church.  In  this  way  the  whole  coun- 
try has  been  fairly  honeycombed  with  Anglo-American 
influence ;  and  it  speaks  well  for  the  spirit  in  which  the 
foreigners  have  laboured,  that,  wherever  he  may  be, 
the  missionary  is  almost  an  oracle  in  his  community. 
Perhaps  the  strongest  impetus  the  Syrian  nation  has 
had  toward  national  unity  has  come  from  this  common 
admiration  for  individuals  living  among  them,  who  are 
not  of  them. 

Much  of  this  incipient  welding  of  sects  and  races 
that  have  been  traditionally  antagonistic  must  surely  be 
credited  to  various  missionary  enterprises  in  the  coun- 
try. The  Syrian  Protestant  College,  formerly  the  child 
of  the  American  Congregational  Mission  in  Syria,  but 
now  under  independent  management,  has  been  one  of 
the  most  prominent  factors  in  producing  this  spirit  of 
tolerance.  It  is  a  recognized  fact  that  the  Moslem, 
the  Jew,  the  Druze,  the  Protestant,  and  the  Oriental 
Christian  who  have  been  students  in  this  College  can 
work  together  as  business  men,  or  can  serve  on  the 
same  committee,  with  a  degree  of  success  that  would 
be  absolutely  impossible  had  they  not  had  this  levelling 
experience  of  a  tolerant  American  education.  The 
same  is  true  to  a  lesser  degree  of  the  graduates  of  the 
American  mission-schools,  and  this  only  because  the 
pupils  are  less  mature,  and  their  characters  less  stabil- 
ized when  they  leave  the  secondary  schools.     When 


Foreign  Guests  of  the  Sultan  in  Syria        45 

they  graduate  from  the  College  they  are  men,  and 
their  opinions  are  formulated  with  more  or  less  per- 
manency. The  graduate  of  the  American  High  School 
is  still  a  callow  youth,  and  unless  he  continue  under  the 
influence  of  mature  minds  in  some  more  advanced 
school,  he  may  surrender  himself  anew  to  the  intoler- 
ant prejudices  of  his  own  sect. 

Among  the  foreign  organizations  in  Syria  and  Pal- 
estine the  French  missions  come  next  to  the  British  and 
American  in  scope  and  influence.  It  is  an  open  secret, 
however,  that  while  the  latter  are  operating  in  the 
country  from  purely  humanitarian  motives,  French 
missions  have  been  established  with  a  more  subtle 
political  purpose.  It  has,  moreover,  been  unfortunate 
for  their  influence  in  the  country  that  a  large  number 
of  the  French  priests  who  have  emigrated  to  Syria 
were  ejected  from  France,  where  they  were  considered 
undesirable  citizens.  This  has  not,  however,  pre- 
vented their  being  used  by  their  Government  as  agents 
of  political  propaganda,  and  they  have  gained  a  follow- 
ing of  several  hundred  thousand  among  the  Majonites, 
the  most  powerful  sect  of  Syrian  Romanists. 

The  particular  stronghold  of  the  French  missions  is 
the  Lebanon,  and  there  is  hardly  a  hillcrest  that  is  not 
crowned  with  a  Catholic  monastery ;  there  is  scarcely  a 
spot  in  Lebanon  so  remote  that  in  the  evening  hush  one 
cannot  hear  the  melodious  note  of  a  convent-bell  sound- 
ing the  hour  of  evening  worship.  The  terms  Catholic 
and  Maronite  and  French-sympathizer  are  practically 
synonymous  in  Syria,  for  most  of  the  Syrians  who  ac- 
knowledge the  authority  of  the  Pope  look  also  to 


46  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

France  as  their  strongest  hope  in  the  attainment  of 
their  political  aspirations.  Undoubtedly  the  French 
have  done  a  great  deal  for  the  country  in  the  matter  of 
education,  but  it  has  been  unfortunate  that  this  has 
been  accomplished  at  the  price  of  exaggerating  the  al- 
ready latent  denominational  antagonisms.  Their  most 
distinguished  institution  in  Syria  is  the  Jesuit  Univer- 
sity in  Beirut,  which  has  won  international  recognition 
for  the  high  standard  of  its  scholarship,  its  famous 
library,  and  the  value  of  some  of  its  publications,  espe- 
cially along  historical  and  archaeological  lines. 

Among  the  Protestant  missions  operating  in  Syria 
and  Palestine  before  the  war  were  the  Danish,  pre- 
viously mentioned,  and  the  German.  Curiously 
enough,  the  latter  were  assigned  by  their  government 
no  role  as  political  agents,  in  spite  of  Germany's  long- 
acknowledged  political  aspirations  in  Syria.  In  Beirut 
and  in  Jerusalem  in  particular  there  were  numerous 
flourishing  institutions,  hospitals,  hospices,  orphanages 
and  schools;  but  at  the  time  of  writing  these  are  all 
under  the  control  of  British  or  American  organiza- 
tions. There  were  three  prosperous  German  colonies 
in  Palestine,  one  at  Jerusalem,  chiefly  commercial,  one 
at  Jaffa,  and  one  at  Haifa,  the  two  latter  mainly  agri- 
cultural. These  colonies  were  established  about  fifty 
years  ago  by  modern  crusaders  from  Wiirtemburg  who 
were  inspired  with  the  desire  to  rebuild  the  Temple. 
Since  the  British  occupation,  the  Germans,  with  but 
few  exceptions,  have  been  expelled  from  the  territory 
of  the  former  Turkish  Empire;  and  it  has  not  yet  been 
decided  whether  they  will  be  permitted  to  return. 


Foreign  Guests  of  the  Sultan  in  Syria        47 

This  brief  statement  of  foreign  missionary  influence 
in  Syria  would  not  be  complete  without  reference  to 
the  work  of  numerous  other  nationalities ;  but  as  most 
of  their  activity  has  been  along  the  line  of  Catholic  mis- 
sionary methods — the  domination  of  the  few,  rather 
than  the  lifting  of  the  masses — their  influence  has  been 
restricted  and  purely  local.  The  Russians  had  exten- 
sive work,  especially  in  Palestine,  where,  previous  to 
the  war,  the  richly  endowed  Russian  Palestine  Society 
maintained  numerous  hospices  and  schools,  including  a 
normal  seminary.  The  Russians  have  always  particu- 
larly patronized  the  adherents  of  the  Greek  Orthodox 
Church  in  Syria,  all  of  whom  were  admittedly  Russian 
in  sympathy. 

The  Austrians  and  Italians  likewise  supported  mis- 
sions in  the  Holy  Land,  but  their  work  was  preemi- 
nently educational,  or  medical,  and  was  not  extensive 
in  scope.  Among  the  foreigners  must  also  be  included 
the  "  Frank  "monks,  who  have  long  possessed  monas- 
teries in  the  Holy  Land.  The  Franciscans  have  been 
especially  zealous  in  providing  accommodations  at 
many  different  places  for  wayfaring  pilgrims.  These 
monks  are  generally  Spanish,  or  Italian,  and  more 
rarely  French.  They  exercise  a  very  beneficial  influ- 
ence over  the  native  clergy  through  the  schools  which 
they  maintain. 

As  was  intimated,  however,  at  the  beginning  of  this 
chapter,  secular  interests  as  well  as  religious  motives 
have  attracted  the  Westerner  to  the  Near  East.  There 
has  always  been  a  rich  field  for  commercial  enterprise, 
and  previous  to  the  war  European  finance  had  been 


48  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

granted  important  concessions  in  Syria.  There  was  a 
complete  system  of  German  banks  throughout  every 
part  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  but  only  one  other  foreign 
bank  existed  in  Syria,  a  French  bank  in  Jerusalem. 
All  the  leading  European  nations,  except  Germany, 
however,  had  contributed  liberally  to  the  currency  sup- 
ply of  Turkey,  with  a  result  that  French,  Italian,  Rus- 
sian and  British  gold  were  as  much  in  circulation  as 
was  Turkish  gold. 

The  French  in  particular  had  extensive  commercial 
interests,  and  consequently  definite  political  aspirations. 
Such  vital  factors  in  the  life  of  the  country  as  the  rail- 
ways, roads,  tramlines,  and  the  gas  and  electric  com- 
panies were  backed  by  foreign  capital.  A  French  com- 
pany had  built  the  seawall  at  Beirut  and  controlled  the 
port.  The  same  was  true  of  the  Damascus,  Hedjaz 
and  Extension  Railroad,  and  of  the  Gas  and  Electric 
Company  of  Beirut.  The  concession  for  the  Bagdad 
Railway,  on  the  other  hand,  had  been  granted  to  Ger- 
many, although  at  one  time  England  had  been  almost 
in  sight  of  the  prize.  The  Beirut  Tram  Company  was 
a  Belgian  concern:  all  of  which  indicates  how  keenly 
desirable  a  foothold  in  this  little  land  was  adjudged  by 
the  great  European  Powers.  Ships  of  all  nations 
brought  foreign  produce  to  the  Syrian  coast ;  and,  inci- 
dentally, America  made  her  contribution  to  the  econ- 
omy of  Turkey  by  the  importation  of  the  Standard  Oil 
Company's  products,  and  by  the  exportation  of  tobacco 
and  licorice.  An  American-Syrian  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce was  In  existence  before  the  war,  and  is  now  be- 
ing revived;  but  in  comparison  with  other  foreign 


Foreign  Guests  of  the  Sultan  in  Syria        49 

countries  America's  interests  were  so  limited  to  educa- 
tional and  religious  enterprises  as  to  seem  to  the  Turks 
of  little  consequence.  They  realized  that  America  had 
no  desire  to  interfere  in  the  politics  of  the  Near  East, 
and  this  fact  gave  her  a  prestige  wholly  different  from 
that  of  any  other  Great  Power.  During  practically 
the  whole  course  of  the  war  the  Ottoman  attitude  to- 
ward the  United  States  was  conciliatory  and  ingratiat- 
ing ;  and  even  the  Germans  failed  to  blind  the  Turks  to 
the  fact  that,  if  they  alienated  America,  they  would 
lose  their  one  possible  champion.  In  view  of  the  fact 
that,  at  the  opening  of  the  war,  America  was  generally 
supposed  to  be  destined  for  the  role  of  international 
arbiter  at  the  final  settlement  of  peace,  Turkey  stub- 
bornly persisted  in  maintaining  amiable  relations  with 
this  desirable  friend. 

One  has  only  to  recall  the  history  of  the  Turkish 
Empire  to  realize  how  absolutely  essential  it  was,  if 
foreigners  were  to  reside  there  at  all,  that  their  life  and 
property  should  be  protected  by  special  treaties  and 
agreements.  Such  treaties  have  existed  for  centuries, 
and  are  known  as  "  the  Capitulations."  I  have  here 
taken  the  liberty  of  quoting  a  few  admirably  concise 
paragraphs  from  Ambassador  Morgenthau's  Story  on 
this  subject: 

"Turkey  had  never  been  admitted  to  a  complete 
equality  with  European  nations,  and  in  reality  she  had 
never  been  an  independent  sovereignty.  The  Sultan's 
laws  and  customs  differed  so  radically  from  those  of 
Europe  and  America  that  no  non-Moslem  country 
could  think  of  submitting  its  citizens  in  Turkey  to 


5©  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

them.  In  many  matters,  therefore,  the  principle  of 
exterritoriality  had  always  prevailed  in  favour  of  all 
citizens  or  subjects  of  countries  enjoying  capitulatory 
rights.  Almost  all  European  countries,  as  well  as  the 
United  States,  for  centuries  had  had  their  own  con- 
sular courts  and  prisons  in  which  they  tried  and  pun- 
ished crimes  which  their  nationals  committed  in  Tur- 
key. We  all  had  our  schools,  which  were  subject,  not 
to  Turkish  law  and  protection,  but  to  that  of  the  coun- 
try which  maintained  them.  Several  nations  had  their 
own  post  offices,  as  they  did  not  care  to  submit  their 
mail  to  the  Ottoman  postal  service.  Turkey  likewise 
did  not  have  unlimited  power  of  taxation  over  for- 
eigners. It  could  not  even  increase  their  customs 
taxes  without  the  consent  of  the  foreign  Powers.  .  .  . 
Turkey  was  thus  prohibited  by  the  Powers  from  devel- 
oping any  industries  of  her  own;  instead,  she  was 
forced  to  take  large  quantities  of  inferior  articles  from 
Europe.  Against  these  restrictions  Turkish  statesmen 
had  protested  for  years,  declaring  that  they  constituted 
an  insult  to  their  pride  as  a  nation  and  also  interfered 
with  their  progress."  * 

Only  under  these  provisions,  as  experience  subse- 
quent to  their  abolition  certainly  proved,  could  life  for 
the  foreign  resident  in  Turkey  maintain  any  degree  of 
safety  or  security.  By  grace  of  these  treaties,  he  was 
not  only  permitted  to  pursue  his  work  unmolested,  but 
he  had  the  right  of  appeal  to  his  national  representa- 
tives at  the  Sublime  Porte  in  case  of  any  infringement 
of  his  treaty  rights.  It  may  easily  be  understood  that 
^Ambassador  Morgenthau's  Story,  pp.  112-113. 


Foreign  Guests  of  the  Sultan  in  Syria        51 

these  Capitulations  were  a  thorn  in  the  flesh  of  the 
Turk,  or  one  might  better  say,  a  ring  in  the  nose  of  the 
bull.  If  ever  he  so  far  forgot  himself  as  to  menace  his 
foreign  guests,  a  judicious  twist  would  recall  him  to 
his  actual  position,  and  frighten  him  into  at  least  a  pre- 
tence of  submission.  However,  he  was  biding  his 
time,  and  it  will  shortly  be  seen  that  the  first  acts  of 
independence  and  defiance  committed  by  the  Turk, 
under  the  instigation  of  the  Germans,  were  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  Capitulations  and  the  celebration  of  this 
event  with  public  demonstrations  and  rejoicing. 


IV 

MOBILIZING  AN  ELUSIVE  ARMY 

THE  curtain  rises  on  Syria.  Time:  the  summer 
of  1914.  The  heat  in  Beirut  during  June  and 
July  had  been  most  oppressive,  and  long  be- 
fore the  beginning  of  August  most  of  the  American 
community  had  fled  from  the  torrid  humidity  of  the 
plain  to  their  summer-homes  in  the  mist-swept  retreats 
of  Lebanon.  Only  the  President  of  the  Syrian  Prot- 
estant College,  the  Staff  of  the  College  Hospitals,  and 
the  Manager  of  the  American  Press  were  detained  in 
the  city  by  the  pressure  of  their  duties,  which  were,  if 
anything,  heavier  during  the  summer  months,  when  ill- 
ness was  more  prevalent,  or  plans  must  be  made  for  the 
work  of  the  coming  winter  season.  But  even  these 
busy  folk  found  it  necessary  to  seek  refreshment  in  the 
hills,  and  counted  it  among  their  duties  to  arrange  an 
occasional  holiday  in  Lebanon.  On  Saturday,  August 
first,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dana  and  I  set  out  for  the  village  of 
Shweir  where  we  expected  to  pass  a  quiet  and  peaceful 
week-end.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  recall  a  restful  and 
idle  Sunday  spent  under  the  pines  on  the  mountain- 
side. However,  the  memory  of  that  uneventful  day 
has  been  almost  obliterated  by  the  excitement  of  the 
events  that  followed.    On  Monday  morning  we  were 


Mobilizing  an  Elusive  Army  53 

returning  to  the  heat  and  dust  of  the  plain  and  the 
work  of  another  trying  week  when  we  met  crowds  of 
people  fleeing  from  the  city.  Every  one  seemed  panic- 
stricken,  and  many  urged  us  to  retrace  our  steps  to 
the  mountains.  In  vain  we  attempted  to  discover  the 
cause  of  this  feverish  excitement.  It  was  evident  that 
no  great  catastrophe  had  befallen  the  city,  for  there  it 
lay  on  the  plain  beneath  us,  pale  and  drowsy  in  the 
August  heat.  Not  a  wisp  of  smoke  was  visible  to  give 
the  alarm  of  fire,  nothing  appeared  out  of  the  ordinary 
to  stir  the  slumbering  countryside,  except  the  unusual 
clouds  of  dust  raised  by  the  hurrying  feet  of  men  and 
animals  toiling  up  the  steep  ascent.  At  times  we  al- 
most feared  that  we  too  should  have  to  join  that  wit- 
less exodus,  for  on  several  occasions  we  were  stopped 
by  travellers  and  told  that  if  we  attempted  to  cross  the 
borderline  between  Lebanon  and  Beirut  Vilayet  our 
horses  would  be  commandeered  by  the  military.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  we  only  succeeded  in  reaching  our  desti- 
nation in  the  heart  of  the  city  because  we  insisted  on 
our  right  as  Americans  to  pursue  our  journey  un- 
molested, an  argument  which  continued  effective  until 
the  war  was  several  months  old.  When  we  reached 
the  city  and  reliable  sources  of  information,  we  dis- 
covered the  cause  of  the  panic.  The  Austrian  guns 
had  opened  fire  on  Belgrade,  and  with  the  echo  of  the 
first  report  the  Turkish  Government  had  begun  to 
mobilize  its  army.  It  was  from  the  traditional  horrors 
of  enforced  service  in  the  Turkish  ranks  that  the 
Syrians  were  fleeing  as  one  man. 
There  was  nothing  of  Oriental  sluggishness  in  the 


54  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

way  that  Turkey  acted  in  this  crisis,  and  we  in  the 
country  were  wholly  swept  off  our  feet.  We  hardly 
realized  even  at  that  time  how  powerful  the  German 
influence  in  the  Empire  already  was,  for  it  had  been 
fostered  so  secretly,  and  yet  so  skillfully,  that  when  the 
crisis  came,  Germany  alone  had  her  hand  on  the  rud- 
der. When  the  shot  was  fired  at  Sarajevo,  Germany 
warned  Turkey  to  prepare  herself  against  the  attack 
which  must  surely  follow  the  outbreak  of  trouble  in  the 
Balkans,  and  at  the  drop  of  the  hat  Turkey  was  in  the 
ring.  In  every  country  of  Europe  nations  were  be- 
ginning to  stir,  men  were  donning  uniforms,  and  the 
most  peaceful  land  was  being  converted  into  an  enor- 
mous drill-ground.  Turkey  in  this  respect  was  no  ex- 
ception, but  where  the  men  of  other  nations  responded 
willingly  to  the  call  of  their  country,  in  Turkey  they 
fled  before  the  conscription  officers  as  from  the  plague. 
Even  the  Lebanese  dared  not  rely  on  their  traditional 
immunity  from  military  service  as  long  as  they  resided 
in  Beirut,  for  no  one  trusted  the  wily  Turk,  and  each 
felt  that  he  would  be  safe  only  in  the  fastnesses  of 
Lebanon  among  his  compatriots  who  could  combine 
with  him  to  defend  their  rights.  It  would  hardly  be 
incorrect  to  say  that  there  was  not  an  Ottoman  subject 
in  all  of  Syria  who  was  animated  by  one  spark  of 
patriotism.  Of  the  Syrians  themselves,  a  great  ma- 
jority secretly  aspired  to  independence,  or  to  a  protect- 
orate under  the  mandate  of  one  of  the  Great  Powers. 
Others,  less  nationalistically  ambitious  and  concerned 
solely  with  their  own  personal  well-being,  were  plan- 
ning to  leave  their  native  land  and  seek  their  fortunes 


<f9  to 


Mobilizing  an  Elusive  Army  ^^ 

abroad  where,  under  a  more  beneficent  administration, 
they  might  live  in  peace  and  devote  themselves  to  the 
acquisition  of  wealth.  To  such  the  war  was  a  calam- 
ity only  because  it  trapped  them  in  Syria  when  they 
were  intending  to  fare  forth  into  the  world  overseas. 
Even  the  Turkish  government  officials  had  no  love  for 
Turkey,  and  felt  no  responsibility  to  their  government. 
Greed  and  the  accumulation  of  wealth  were  their  sole 
aims  in  life,  and  to  them  the  war  offered  a  possibility 
of  greater  license  than  had  prevailed  in  times  of 
peace. 

Then  it  was  that  Turkey,  hounded  on  one  side  by 
Germany,  was  driven  on  the  other  side  by  a  nascent 
hope  that,  by  the  proper  conduct  of  her  affairs  at  this 
time,  when  the  world  was  in  a  tumult  and  every  one 
was  too  much  occupied  with  his  own  affairs  to  concern 
himself  with  the  Near-Eastern  question,  she  might  pay 
off  old  scores,  and  secure  to  herself  certain  much-cov- 
eted privileges,  and,  perchance,  even  additional  terri- 
tory. If  she  listened  to  German  warnings,  she  became 
convinced  that  her  very  national  existence  was  at  stake, 
and  that  only  by  the  instant  mobilization  of  her  armies 
and  prompt  resort  to  precautionary  measures  against 
foreigners  could  she  hope  to  maintain  her  separate 
identity.  If  she  lent  an  ear  to  the  voice  of  her  own 
avarice,  she  saw  in  the  world-calamity  an  occasion  to 
establish  beyond  question  her  disputed  sway  over 
Egypt,  and  to  drive  the  hated  and  privileged  foreigners 
from  her  territory.  Whichever  motive  actuated  her 
conduct,  certain  it  was  that  she  must  have  an  army, 
and  the  only  way  to  mobilize  that  army  was  by  force. 


56  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

To  assemble  that  army,  however,  was  like  trying  to 
gather  feathers  in  a  gale.  The  only  hope  lay  in  imme- 
diate action.  If  she  loosed  her  hand  from  one  cap- 
tured feather  to  seize  another,  a  puff  of  wind  carried 
the  first  far  out  of  reach.  The  available  men  of  the 
country  were  scurrying  to  Lebanon  like  rabbits  making 
for  cover,  and  those  who  were  obliged  to  remain  within 
the  vilayet  were  daily  disappearing  from  view.  No 
one  knew  whither  they  had  gone,  or  how  they  lived,  but 
many  who  had  been  familiar  sights  in  the  genial  haunts 
of  the  city  vanished  overnight,  and  were  not  seen 
again  for  months — in  some  cases  even  for  the  whole 
period  of  the  war.  Where  they  hid  themselves  we  are 
only  now  beginning  to  learn,  but  with  the  desperation 
of  the  outlaw  they  fled  from  the  conscription  officers 
of  the  Government. 

Certain  features  of  the  resulting  chaos  in  Syria  need 
not  be  described,  for  there  was  not  a  country  of  Europe 
that  did  not  know  the  same  upheaval  during  some 
period  of  the  war.  But  the  abject  terror  that  pos- 
sessed the  population  as  a  mass  is  something  that  has 
probably  never  been  equalled  in  this  generation.  Bel- 
gium was  undoubtedly  terrorized  when  the  wave  of 
German  invasion  broke  over  her  boundaries,  but  the 
necessity  for  immediate  action  for  self-defence,  and 
the  purifying  love  of  country  transformed  that  terror 
into  a  sacred  fervour.  In  Turkey,  on  the  other  hand, 
there  was  no  redeeming  virtue  to  ennoble  this  consum- 
ing fear.  It  was  the  repellent  fright  of  the  animal  at 
bay  that  swept  over  the  land  from  one  end  to  the  other. 
All  sects  were  united  in  the  common  bond  of  fear  of 


Mobilizing  an  Elusive  Army  57 

tht  Government  and  in  the  search  for  some  escape  from 
tht  certain  disaster  which  loomed  ahead. 

Even  the  most  pessimistic  did  not  imagine  in  those 
days  that  the  war  would  last  more  than  two  or  three 
months  at  most,  or  that  the  conflagration  once  kindled 
would  lick  up  everything  in  its  path.  No  one  really 
believed  that  any  of  Turkey's  enemies  would  take  this 
occasion  for  attacking  her ;  otlierwise  perhaps  the  age- 
long hatred  of  one  Balkan  nation  for  another,  or  the 
traditional  enmity  between  Russia  and  Turkey,  might 
have  united  the  peoples  of  the  Ottoman  Empire  in  a 
common  cause.  The  threat  that  England  would  send 
an  army  from  Egypt  to  invade  Palestine,  or  that 
France  would  disembark  her  legions  on  the  maritime 
plain  failed  to  arouse  any  military  fervour  in  the  heart 
of  the  Syrian  who  was  secretly  hoping,  even  plotting, 
that  England  or  France  might  come  and  deliver  the 
country  from  the  hand  of  the  oppressor.  We  all  be- 
lieved in  those  days  that  one  or  both  of  those  Powers 
would  undoubtedly  attack  Turkey  should  the  latter 
show  the  supreme  folly  of  allying  herself  with  Ger- 
many in  the  war,  but  that  Turkey  would  ever  be 
capable  of  such  madness  we  hardly  imagined. 

One  who  had  been  absent  from  Syria  between  Sat- 
urday, August  first,  and  Monday,  August  tenth,  might 
have  fancied  that  he  had  suffered  the  fate  of  Rip  Van 
Winkle,  and  that  in  reality  some  years  had  elapsed  in 
the  interval.  In  those  ten  days  the  whole  country  had 
been  transformed.  Where,  before  that  Saturday,  men 
had  gone  quietly  about  their  business,  cultivating  their 
ground,  carrying  on  their  commercial  and  financial 


^8  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

transactions  as  they  had  been  wont  during  times  of 
peace ;  on  the  Monday  there  were  no  young  men  to  be 
seen  in  the  streets,  shops  were  closed,  business  was  par- 
alyzed, and  the  anxious  countenances  of  women  and 
children  already  bespoke  fear  and  anxiety  as  to  where 
they  should  find  their  next  meal.  Banks  had  closed 
their  doors,  the  moratorium  was  in  force,  gold  had 
gone  into  hiding,  and  those  who  had  cash  in  hand  when 
the  bolt  struck  were  hoarding  it  against  the  needs  of 
the  unknown  future.  The  low  capitalization  of  the 
country  necessarily  forces  the  people  to  a  hand-to- 
mouth  existence.  Even  a  man  who  owns  much  land 
has  so  little  ready  money  that  he  cannot  afford  to  lay 
in  extensive  quantities  of  living  commodities,  but  must 
depend  upon  daily  cajgh-purchases  in  the  markets. 
Within  a  fortnight  the  necessity  of  acquiring  ready 
cash  had  brought  into  the  market  many  valuable  per- 
sonal effects  such  as  rugs  and  jewelry.  No  one  would 
sell  for  credit,  and  the  would-be  purchaser  must  lay 
down  the  cold  coin,  even  though  he  had  to  sell  his 
watch  to  secure  it. 

The  result  in  the  cities  was  the  suspension  of  all  in- 
dustries. Factories  were  closed,  and  petty  merchants 
reduced  their  business  to  a  minimum.  In  the  country 
it  was  harvest  time  when  many  of  the  men  were  taken 
for  the  army,  and  there  was  no  one  left  to  garner  the 
crops.  Thousands  of  dollars*  worth  of  foodstuffs 
rotted  in  the  fields,  and  when  the  winter  came  with  its 
icy  rains  and  penetrating  winds,  thousands  starved  for 
want  of  the  precious,  wasted  food.  It  was  not  only 
the  habitually  indigent,  or  even  the  labourers  who  led 


Mobilizing  an  Elusive  Army  59 

a  hand-to-mouth  existence,  that  began  to  feel  the  pinch 
of  poverty.  All  classes,  with  but  one  exception,  were 
stricken  with  want ;  and  some  of  those  who  had  lived 
in  luxury  before  the  war,  because  of  their  inability  to 
realize  ready  cash  on  their  invested  capital,  knew  now 
the  pangs  of  hunger. 

With  the  rupture  of  diplomatic  relations  between 
Turkey  and  the  Entente,  the  British,  French,  and  Rus- 
sian steamers  discontinued  their  service  to  Turkish 
ports.  All  possibilities  of  import  were  thus  cut  off. 
Certain  staples  of  diet,  such  as  sugar,  which  are  not 
raised  anywhere  within  the  Empire,  could  no  longer  be 
brought  into  the  country,  and  the  same  was  true  of  less 
necessary  articles,  such  as  drugs,  matches,  Russian  oil, 
and  foreign  clothing.  Duty  on  some  imports  was 
raised  one  hundred  per  cent.,  and  in  a  few  weeks  the 
Beirut  Customs-House  was  closed,  although  it  con- 
tained over  one  million  dollars*  worth  of  goods  which 
the  owners  could  not  afford  to  clear. 

Within  a  very  short  time  the  general  supply  of  stores 
in  the  country  was  exhausted,  or  had  been  hidden,  espe- 
cially in  those  places  where  soldiers  had  been  stationed 
and  where  the  shops  had  been  looted  on  the  pretext  of 
supplying  the  needs  of  the  army.  An  inventory  of  the 
articles  commandeered,  including  not  only  clothing  and 
food,  but  babies'  slippers,  silk  petticoats,  and  face- 
powder,  will  reveal  how  wholesale  and  shameless  was 
the  robbery.  No  receipts  were  given,  and  no  pay- 
ments were  made  for  anything  taken.  The  whole  pro- 
ceeding was  equivalent  to  mob-plunder  carried  on  by 
soldiers    or   by   government    representatives.     Then, 


6o  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

when  it  seemed  that  everything  seizable  had  been 
seized,  there  came  a  new  order  that  every  shopkeeper 
must  furnish  a  statement  of  stores  in  his  possession. 
He  was  indeed  between  the  Devil  and  the  deep  sea.  If 
he  did  not  make  a  truthful  declaration,  he  exposed  him- 
self to  the  penalty  of  fine  and  imprisonment;  if  he  were 
honest,  his  little  all  would  be  taken.* 

It  would  be  impossible  to  imagine  a  more  desperate 
situation.  The  economy  of  the  country  has  already 
been  dealt  with  in  a  previous  chapter,  and  special  em- 
phasis was  there  laid  on  the  fact  that  many  thousands 
in  Syria  are  wholly  dependent  for  their  support  upon 
relatives  resident  abroad.  Frequently  the  inhabitants 
of  towns  with  a  population  of  from  three  hundred  to 
two  thousand  are  almost  entirely  supported  by  relatives 
in  the  United  States,  South  America,  or  the  British 
Empire.  Of  late  years  this  fact  has  changed  the  very 
aspect  of  the  landscape.  Wherever  a  neat  red  tile  roof 
has  replaced  the  old-fashioned  flat  mud  roof  on  a 
house  in  a  Syrian  village,  one  may  safely  assume  that 
the  new  roof  has  been  purchased  with  the  earnings  of 
some  Syrian  who  has  prospered  abroad.  With  Tur- 
key's entrance  into  the  war  this  income  from  the  out- 
side world  was  completely  arrested.  Checks  and 
drafts  were  no  longer  negotiable,  even  when  offered  at 
a  discount  of  fifty  per  cent.  The  difficulties  of  this 
situation  which  began  in  August  were  augmented  still 
further  by  the  declaration  of  hostilities  between  Tur- 
key and  the  Entente  in  November,  because  of  the  fact 

^Vidf  p.  6;  also  my  Report  of  the  Beirut  Red  Cross  Chapter, 
May,  1915. 


Mobilizing  an  Elusive  Army  6l 

that  ninety-nine  per  cent,  of  these  remittances  were  by 
checks  on  London  banking-houses,  and  the  Turkish 
Gk)vernment  then  decreed  the  transfer  or  negotiation 
of  London  drafts  an  illegal  proceeding. 

I  have  just  said  that  all  classes  but  one  were  levelled 
in  the  common  distress  and  affliction  that  had  befallen 
the  country.  That  one  exception  was  the  class  of 
wealthy  merchants,  those  "  wolfish  "  men,  as  some  one 
recently  described  them,  who  had  sufficient  capital  to 
enable  them  to  speculate  in  foodstuffs,  and  who  were 
so  unprincipled  as  to  feel  no  scruples  against  enriching 
themselves  at  the  expense  of  their  unfortunate  country- 
men. With  demoniacal  foresight  these  capitalists  real- 
ized their  opportunity  and  bought  up  everything  they 
could  lay  their  hands  on.  By  the  time  those  who  were 
less  crafty  in  business  affairs  awoke  to  their  extremely 
precarious  situation  and  prepared  to  lay  in  a  stock  of 
necessary  commodities,  they  discovered  that  the  Syrian 
financiers  had  forestalled  them.  The  whole  reserve 
supply  of  the  country  was  in  the  hands  of  speculators. 
All  the  sugar  in  a  city  like  Beirut,  which,  if  properly 
administered,  should  have  supplied  the  wants  of  the 
entire  population  during  practically  the  entire  war,  was 
stored  in  the  warehouses  of  a  wealthy  Moslem,  who 
preferred  to  let  it  rot,  rather  than  put  it  on  the  market 
before  he  could  command  the  price  his  avarice  dictated. 
Early  in  the  war  most  of  the  woolen  and  cotton  goods 
of  the  country  was  bought  up  by  wealthy  Jews  in 
Aleppo  and  dispatched  to  Bagdad,  Constantinople,  and 
other  cities  of  the  interior,  leaving  the  markets  of 
Syria  absolutely  stripped  of  anything  which  might  be 


62  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

purchased,  even  at  a  ruinous  price,  for  clothing  or  bed- 
ding. All  the  wheat  in  Syria  was  either  commandeered 
by  the  military,  or  bought  as  it  stood  in  the  fields  by 
these  same  crafty  men  of  business;  but  when  Lebanon 
lost  thirty  per  cent,  of  her  population  through  starva- 
tion in  a  single  winter,  the  Government,  which  had  con- 
nived at  this  robbery,  pled  difficulties  of  transport  as 
an  excuse  for  the  fact  that  thousands  of  tons  of  wheat 
lay  moulding  in  Damascus,  Aleppo,  and  the  Hauran. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  whole  problem  of  transport 
has  been  greatly  exaggerated.  It  did  not  even  require 
organization,  and  had  the  Government  not  interfered, 
the  distribution  of  food  supplies  in  the  country  might 
easily  have  been  adjusted.  The  rich  wheat  regions  of 
Hauran,  Palestine  and  Northern  Syria  were  fully 
capable  of  producing  wheat  sufficient  for  the  needs  of 
all  Syria.  One  can  easily  understand  that  every  car 
on  the  railway  from  Constantinople  to  Jerusalem  car- 
ried troops  and  ammunition  in  one  direction  only, 
south,  and  that  those  same  cars  returned  empty  through 
the  grain  regions  of  Palestine  and  Hauran,  where 
wheat  sufficient  to  provide  for  the  whole  population  of 
Syria  lay  piled  on  either  side  of  the  railway  awaiting 
transport  to  distributing  centers.  The  Government  not 
only  made  no  effort  to  regulate  the  revictualing  of  the 
country,  but  cooperated  with  the  food-speculators  who 
recognized  in  the  economic  situation  the  opportunity 
to  amass  enormous  private  fortunes.  Permits  for  the 
purchase  and  transport  of  tremendous  amounts  of 
foodstuffs  were  granted  to  these  speculators  which  less 
favoured  merchants  could  not  possibly  obtain,  and  all 


Mobilizing  an  Elusive  Army  63 

the  grain  that  was  imported  into  Syria  was  consigned 
to  a  few  wealthy  men  who  formed  a  wheat-combine 
and  who  dictated  their  own  exorbitant  prices.  Within 
a  half-year  after  the  commencement  of  the  war  in 
Europe  a  score  of  men  in  Syria  held  the  country  in  the 
hollow  of  their  hands.  Commerce  was  at  a  complete 
standstill,  and  supplies  were  shifted  from  place  to 
place,  or  marketed  only  as  these  men  decreed. 

As  time  went  on  conditions  grew  steadily  worse, 
both  in  the  towns  and  in  the  country.  The  same 
desperation  that  had  driven  the  city-dweller  to  sell  his 
rugs,  his  furniture,  his  jewels,  even  his  house,  had 
forced  the  rural  population  to  mortgage  every  spare 
metre  of  land.  Only  recently  there  came  to  my  at- 
tention a  typical  instance.  It  was  the  case  of  a  man 
who  with  his  two  daughters  lived  in  Beit  Meri,  a  large 
village  in  the  mountains  some  fifteen  miles  beyond 
Beirut.  His  two  sons  had  emigrated  to  New  Zealand ; 
and  as  their  business  there  had  proved  prosperous,  they 
had  undertaken  the  entire  support  of  their  father  and 
their  two  sisters.  Up  to  the  time  when  communica- 
tions were  abruptly  terminated  by  the  war,  remittances 
from  the  sons  had  arrived  regularly.  The  father  was 
an  industrious  and  self-respecting  farmer,  but  he  lived, 
as  did  practically  all  of  his  class,  a  day-to-day  exist- 
ence. When  the  crash  came,  he  had  nothing  set  aside 
for  such  an  emergency.  He  was  soon  forced  to  sell  a 
small  piece  of  land,  but  the  price  it  brought  was  only 
sufficient  to  provide  his  family  with  bread  for  a  few 
months.  In  time  he  was  driven  down  to  the  city  in 
search  of  some  one  who  would  advance  him  money  on 


64  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

the  pledge  that  his  sons  would  pay  off  his  debts  at  the 
close  of  the  war.  He  discovered  two  business  men, 
formerly  from  his  village  but  now  resident  in  the  city, 
who  were  willing  to  loan  him  money ;  but  the  price  de- 
manded was  a  promissory  note  at  fifty-five  per  cent, 
compound  interest,  and  the  agreement  to  repay  in  gold 
after  the  war!  The  sum  of  eighty  Turkish  Liras,  or 
$240,  which  he  received  in  paper  three  years  ago  is  to- 
day due  at  the  amount  of  £360,  or  $1,425  i  This  is 
only  one  true  instance  out  of  thousands. 

The  reader  may  well  wonder  what  had  been  the  fate 
of  the  foreign  resident  in  Syria  during  this  difficult 
period.  It  must  have  impressed  him  that  Turkey  had 
taken  the  bit  in  her  teeth,  and  that  neither  the  curb  of 
the  Capitulations,  nor  the  fear  of  foreign  intervention 
had  power  to  check  her  in  her  mad  plunge  to  destruc- 
tion. As  a  matter  of  fact,  every  country  in  Europe 
was  desperately  preoccupied  with  its  own  affairs,  and 
only  Germany,  who  had  her  own  reasons  for  watch- 
ing Turkey's  every  move,  had  time  to  consider  how 
she  had  been  affected  by  the  world  upheaval.  An 
American  who  was  on  friendly  terms  with  the  Syrian 
mayor  of  the  village  where  he  had  his  summer-home 
furnished  me  with  conclusive  proof  that  months  previ- 
ous to  August,  1914,  Germany's  plans  for  Turkey's 
part  in  the  war  that  she  was  meditating  were  as  fully 
matured  as  were  her  plans  for  Europe.  In  April,  1914, 
the  Mukhtar  of  B ,  a  prominent  town  near  Damas- 
cus, received  from  his  Turkish  superiors  sealed  in- 
structions which  he  was  to  hold  for  further  orders. 
He  told  his  American  friend  about  this  sealed  envelope 


Mobilizing  an  Elusive  Army  65 

and  they  speculated  as  to  its  meaning.  On  the  first 
of  August  the  mystery  was  solved,  when  the  Mukhtar 
received  an  order  to  open  the  envelope  and  found 
therein  an  army  conscription-list  for  his  district  and 
mobilization  orders  designed  by  the  Germans  in  ac- 
cordance with  their  own  plans  of  campaign.  Of 
course,  the  head  of  every  village  or  community  in 
Syria  had  received  similar  orders  in  April  and  August, 
and  it  was  this  foresight  on  the  part  of  the  Turco- 
German  military  party  at  Constantinople  which  ex- 
plains why  it  was  that  by  August  4,  1014,  there  was 
posted  in  every  town  in  the  interior  of  Syria  a  list  of 
those  inhabitants  liable  for  military  service.  We  could 
not  at  the  time  understand  the  dispatch  with  which 
these  lists  had  been  prepared.  When  war  actually 
began,  the  wisdom  of  Germany's  provisions  became 
evident. 

Germany,  with  practically  the  whole  of  the  civilized 
world  ranged  against  her,  at  least  in  sympathy,  if  not 
on  the  actual  battlefield,  had  calculated  that  her  one 
hope  of  salvation  lay  in  the  proper  manipulation  of 
Turkey  as  a  pawn  in  the  game.  Turkey  as  Germany's 
ally  would  be  invaluable  in  the  execution  of  Teutonic 
projects  against  Russia,  India,  Egypt  and  the  Balkans. 
Yet  Turkey  as  a  power  could  not  be  relied  on  to  play 
her  part  unaided.  Germany  knew  that  the  weaker 
Turkey  was  nationally,  the  easier  it  would  be  to  in- 
timidate her  into  playing  the  role  that  German  strategy 
had  assigned  her.  Turkey,  racked  with  internal  ail- 
ments, financially,  socially  and  economically  ruined, 
would  be  far  less  of  a  problem  from  the  German  stand-' 


66  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

point  than  a  Turkey  that  could  stand  on  her  own  feet 
Germany,  therefore,  who  acknowledged  no  law  but 
that  of  her  own  necessity,  did  everything  within  her 
power  to  weaken  the  country  as  a  whole  and  to  direct 
its  control  into  the  hands  of  a  few  chosen  men  to  whom 
the  German  Ambassador  at  Constantinople  might  dic- 
tate the  demands  of  the  Kaiser. 

In  some  respects,  nothing  that  Germany  did  in 
Europe,  disgraceful  as  her  conduct  there  was,  revealed 
the  true  depravity  of  her  national  standards  as  did  her 
relations  with  Turkey.  The  world  feels  no  sympathy 
with  Turkey,  and  civilization  rejoices  to-day  that  the 
five-century  old  regime  of  crime  and  bloodshed  has  at 
last  come  to  an  end;  but  even  Turkey's  villainy  does 
not  excuse  the  part  that  Germany  played,  indeed,  it 
only  makes  it  worse.  Can  the  world  forgive  a  man 
with  the  education  and  traditions  of  a  gentleman  who 
hires  an  assassin  to  fight  his  battles  with  him,  and  who, 
worse  still,  does  so  without  any  intention  of  being  loyal 
to  the  bond  which  he  has  himself  established  with  his 
tool  ?  Germany  needed  Turkey,  but  she  meant  to  sell 
her  when  the  proper  time  came. 

In  my  opinion,  however,  Germany's  supreme  act  of 
infamy  was  her  attempt  to  incite  the  Moslem  world 
to  the  Jehad,  or  Sacred  War.  It  was  not  her  fault 
that  the  attempt  failed.  Her  intention  remained  the 
same,  the  foul  purpose  of  rousing  the  blood-thirsty 
Mohammedan  world  against  Christendom,  or  rather 
against  all  Christendom  except  Germany.  Nothing  in 
the  annals  of  the  world  has  been  more  horrible  than 
a  successful  Jehdd,  and  Germany  believed  that  she  was 


Mobilizing  an  Elusive  Army  67 

unchaining  the  hounds  of  hell  when  she  inspired  the 
summons  to  Isk\m  to  rise  against  the  infidels.  If 
Islam  was  more  civilized  than  the  so-called  Christian 
nation  that  sought  to  rouse  her,  the  credit  belongs  to 
Isldm.     The  shame  remains  to  Germany. 

Personally  I  hope  never  to  witness  a  more  revolt- 
ing spectacle  than  that  of  November  13-14,  1914,  when 
the  proclamation  of  the  Jehdd  was  publicly  made  in 
the  Empire.  In  Syria  there  were  harmless  and  unim- 
passioned  demonstrations  against  the  foreigners,  the 
banners  of  Isldm  were  unfurled,  and  ancient  battle- 
cries  were  faint-heartedly  repeated  with  the  shame- 
faced realization  that  the  day  of  those  sentiments  was 
past,  and  that  even  to  recall  them  was  a  disgrace  in  this 
generation.  Along  with  those  processions  of  pseudo- 
fanatics  rode  the  German  and  Austrian  representa- 
tives in  Syria  in  full  regalia;  and  from  the  same 
platform  whence  the  Moslem  orators  exhorted  their 
co-religionists  to  arise  and  exterminate  the  infidel,  the 
German  and  Austrian  consuls  besought  that  same 
fanatical  horde  to  unsheathe  the  sword  against  their 
Christian  brothers.  There  was  no  apparent  result  from 
this  propaganda,  unless  it  be  that  it  fanned  the  flame 
of  Moslem  fanaticism  which  later  broke  forth  in  the 
massacre  of  the  Armenians.  That  it  failed,  let  me 
repeat  it,  is  to  the  eternal  credit  of  Isl^m.  That  it 
was  ever  attempted,  should  be  remembered  as  Ger- 
many's supreme  disgrace. 

Our  own  American  and  English  periodicals  have  al- 
ready revealed  to  the  public  some  of  the  subterfuges 
to  which  Germany  resorted  in  the  hope  of  ingratiating 


68  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

herself  with  the  Moslem  world.  I  recall  particularly 
an  article  which  appeared  in  the  Literary  Digest  during 
the  first  year  of  the  war,  in  which  was  quoted  Moslem 
criticism  of  Germany's  disloyalty  to  her  professed 
faith,  Christianity.  It  was  commonly  believed  among 
the  more  ignorant  classes  in  Turkey,  and  doubtless 
elsewhere  in  the  Moslem  world,  that  the  Kaiser  was  a 
descendant  of  the  Prophet  on  his  mother's  side — it  is 
enough  to  make  the  ghost  of  that  English  princess 
walk! — and  these  same  simple-minded  folk  believed 
tliat  Germany  had  embraced  Isl4m  and  had  entered  the 
lists  as  a  defender  of  the  faith  against  the  Giaours 
(infidels).  A  vast  number  of  Moslems  were  success- 
fully duped,  but  the  more  intelligent,  thinking  classes 
were  only  revolted  by  the  insincerity  and  baseness  of 
the  modem  exponent  of  Kultur.  It  is  a  commentary 
on  the  power  of  the  Mohammedan  religion  that  it  fails 
to  satisfy  an  educated  Moslem.  Especially  among  the 
Turks  a  man  who  has  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  for- 
eign education,  and  who  has  developed  intellectual  and 
ethical  depths  of  character,  is  at  heart  more  Christian 
than  Moslem.  He  may  cling  to  the  outward  forms  of 
Isl^m,  may  be  regular  in  his  attendance  at  Mosque  on 
Fridays,  may  even  keep  the  fasts;  but  if  he  has  truly 
assimilated  European  ideals,  he  will  probably  have 
only  one  wife,  and  will  probably  be  open  in  his  criticism 
of  certain  formulas  of  the  Moslem  faith  which  he  holds 
are  not  adapted  to  the  present  stage  of  civilization. 
Unfortunately  for  Turkey,  however,  men  of  this  type 
were  in  the  political  minority,  and  the  infamous  tri- 
umvirate at  Constantinople  had  already  elected  that 


Mobilizing  an  Elusive  Army  69 

Turkey  should  range  herself  on  the  side  of  the  Central 
Powers  in  the  world  conflict.  True  patriots  in  Tur- 
key mourned  the  certain  destruction  that  awaited  their 
country,  but  the  Ottoman  nation  as  a  conglomerate 
mass  had  neither  the  wit  nor  the  loyalty  to  understand 
or  to  care  whither  they  were  tending. 

Among  the  influential  classes  in  Syria,  as  well  as 
Turkey  proper,  every  man  lived  for  himself,  and  every 
man's  hand  was  against  his  brother.  He  who  could 
snatched  from  those  about  him,  and  he  who  was  robbed 
of  everything  laid  himself  down  to  die.  Brother's 
hand  was  against  brother,  and  son  betrayed  father. 
The  rich  ground  down  the  poor,  and  those  in  power 
sacrificed  the  people  to  their  selfish  ambitions.  Every 
one  deplored  the  existing  conditions,  but  not  a  single 
patriot  arose  to  save  the  situation.  There  was  no 
cohesion  in  the  population.  Christian  distrusted 
Druze,  and  Moslem  distrusted  Jew.  Because  they 
would  not  hang  together  hundreds  hung  separately, 
and  the  Empire  fell  prey  to  the  Germans  and  to  Turks 
of  the  type  of  Talaat,  Enver,  and  Jemal,  who  despoiled 
it  without  ruth. 

Turkey's  first  act  of  defiance  and  self-assertion  was 
the  abrogation  of  the  Capitulations,  two  months  after 
tlie  opening  of  the  general  European  War,  and  one 
month  before  Turkey  herself  became  a  combatant. 
Under  these  Capitulations,  as  I  have  previously  de- 
scribed, Turkey  had  for  centuries  writhed;  but  the 
civilized  nations  of  the  world  had  been  inexorable,  for 
they  knew  well  that  on  them  alone  depended  the  peace 
and  security  of  foreign  residents  in  the  Ottoman  Em- 


7©  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

pire.  The  agreement  being  bi-lateral  could  not  be 
changed  without  the  consent  of  both  contracting 
parties;  and,  needless  to  say,  the  Great  Powers  had 
never  consented  to  the  least  departure  from  the  terms 
of  the  treaties.  The  abrogation  of  the  Capitulations 
was  part  of  the  Young  Turk  program  to  shake  off  for- 
eign tutelage  and  to  create  a  new  Empire  on  the  basis 
of  Turkey  for  the  Turks.  Naturally  Germany  en- 
couraged them  in  this  scheme  of  independence,  realiz- 
ing that  it  would  only  further  Teutonic  ends.  It 
would  be  far  easier  for  Germany  to  accomplish  her 
purposes  with  Turkey  if  she  were  the  sole  sponsor, 
than  if  she  were  only  one  of  several  signatory  Powers ; 
and,  of  course,  it  did  not  take  a  diplomat  to  realize  that 
Turkey  must  still  depend  on  foreign  support,  at  the 
price  of  concessions  to  foreign  Powers.  Accordingly, 
on  October  1,  1914,  the  Sublime  Porte  decreed  that 
the  Capitulations  were  henceforth  non-existent,  and  in 
so  doing  Turkey  succeeded  in  directing  toward  herself 
the  enmity  of  all  Europe  except  the  Central  Powers. 
She  staked  everything  on  one  hazard,  Germany's 
loyalty;  and  Germany,  as  the  world  well  knows,  be- 
trayed her  at  every  opportunity. 

A  month  later,  November  1,  1914,  Turkey  and  Eng- 
land went  to  war ;  and  one  after  another  the  Powers  of 
the  Entente  severed  relations  with  Turkey  and  left 
her  to  her  fate.  This  was  a  revenge  far  different 
from  anything  on  which  Constantinople  had  calculated. 
They  had  never  taken  it  into  their  reckoning  that  for 
years  the  campaign  against  Turkey  would  be  a  mere 
side-issue,  and  that  she  would  be  cut  off  from  the  rest 


Mobilizing  an  Elusive  Army  71 

of  the  world  to  starve,  or  to  live  on  such  alms  as  her 
Teutonic  patrons  might,  through  motives  of  self-in- 
terest, bestow  upon  her.  For  four  years  the  ships  of 
the  Entente  fleets  patrolled  the  Syrian  coasts,  but  never 
was  there  one  serious  attempt  at  landing.  For  four 
years  the  enemy  aeroplanes  soared  over  the  more  ac- 
cessible portions  of  the  Empire;  but  if  they  ever 
dropped  a  bomb,  it  was  more  as  a  pastime,  to  annoy 
Jemal  Pasha  in  some  ostentatious  passage  through  the 
country,  or  to  disconcert  the  Turkish  troops  assembled 
for  a  special  review.  At  times  we  revelled  in  the 
omniscience  of  the  Entente  Powers,  and  chuckled  to 
ourselves  when  a  French  cruiser  sent  ashore  a  note  to 
the  Governor  of  Beirut  addressed  and  delivered  to  him 
in  Tripoli  when  he  was  there  for  a  few  hours  only  on 
a  secret  mission  unknown  in  Beirut  itself;  but  as  the 
weeks  dragged  into  months,  and  the  months  into  years, 
we  grew  heartsick  with  the  suspense.  Conditions  in 
the  country  grew  more  and  more  distressing.  Disease 
and  famine  walked  abroad  in  the  land;  death  and 
nakedness  stared  us  in  the  face,  and  the  horror  of  it 
all  grew  more  than  courage  and  sympathy  could  stand. 
The  Syrian  people,  after  the  first  feverish  weeks  of 
anticipation  when  they  hourly  expected  an  allied  land- 
ing on  the  coast,  at  which  time  they  themselves  would 
rise  to  join  the  invaders  against  the  hated  Turk,  re- 
lapsed into  dull  apathy.  All  their  time  and  energies 
were  devoted  to  satisfying  the  barest  needs  for  exist- 
ence, and  if  they  gave  a  passing  thought  to  the  situa- 
tion it  was  to  curse  the  French  for  abandoning  them  to 
their  fate.     Very  soon  even  that  vent  to  their  feelings 


72  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

was  denied  them,  for  they  had  before  their  eyes  the 
horrible  example  of  some  scores  of  their  country- 
men dangling  from  the  gallows  in  the  public  squares 
of  the  prominent  cities  of  Syria — French  sympathizers 
and  intriguers,  apprehended  by  the  Government  and 
doomed  to  a  traitor's  death. 


THE  ABROGATION  OF  THE  CAPITULATIONS 

IT  was  less  than  two  centuries  ago  that  Turkey, 
upon  the  declaration  of  war  with  some  rival 
power,  was  accustomed  to  seize  the  diplomatic 
representatives  of  the  hostile  nation  at  Constantinople 
and  immure  them  in  the  medieval  dungeons  of  the 
Seven  Towers.  Even  before  the  declaration  of  war 
between  Turkey  and  England  in  1914,  the  British  Am- 
bassador at  Constantinople,  Sir  Louis  Mallet,  was 
threatened  with  assassination;  and  in  the  days  which 
preceded  the  actual  outbreak  of  hostilities  it  is  said  that 
he  anticipated  the  possibility  of  imprisonment  before 
he  could  leave  the  Empire.  True  to  her  traditions, 
upon  the  occasion  of  her  entrance  into  the  European 
War,  Turkey  took  prompt  steps  to  humiliate  in  every 
way  possible  any  official  representatives  of  the  Allied 
Nations  unfortunate  enough  to  be  trapped  in  the  Em- 
pire at  the  time.  This  was  especially  true  in  the 
provinces. 

I  happened  to  be  in  Damascus  on  November  1, 1914, 
the  day  hostilities  began  between  Turkey  and  England, 
and  I  was  returning  to  Beirut  on  the  train  which  car- 
ried the  French,  English  and  Russian  consuls  and  vice- 
consuls  from  Damascus.  Knowing  that  war  was 
imminent,  they  had  spent  the  last  two  or  three  days  in 

73 


74  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

October  in  attempting  to  arrange  with  the  Turkish 
authorities  necessary  formahties  preHminary  to  their 
departure.  All  telegrams  to  and  from  their  embassies 
in  Constantinople  had  been  held  up  by  the  Turks  for 
several  days  past,  and  they  were  completely  out  of 
touch  with  the  trend  of  affairs.  However,  by  Mon- 
day night,  November  2nd,  everything  was  arranged  and 
on  Tuesday  morning  they  boarded  the  seven  o'clock 
train  for  Beirut,  whence  they  should  embark  by  Italian 
steamer.  Once  out  of  the  Damascus  station  without 
incident,  I  have  no  doubt  each  breathed  a  sigh  of  re- 
lief, and  congratulated  himself  on  his  success.  But 
their  satisfaction  was  short-lived.  In  its  leisurely 
progress  over  the  ninety  mountainous  miles  of  road 
to  Beirut,  the  train  reached  Reyak,  the  junction  with 
the  Aleppo  line,  about  noon.  Here  there  was  a  cus- 
tomary halt  of  half  an  hour  for  luncheon,  and  most 
of  the  first-class  passengers  alighted  to  take  their  noon 
meal  at  the  station  restaurant.  While  we  were  eating 
we  noticed  that  several  Turkish  soldiers  and  secret 
police  had  entered  the  restaurant  and  were  furtively 
regarding  the  foreign  consular  representatives.  There 
was  little  doubt  as  to  what  their  next  move  would  be. 
Before  they  could  finish  their  meal,  the  unfortunate 
consular  officials  were  taken  into  custody  by  the  Turk- 
ish police  and  put  into  a  train  bound  for  Damascus. 
It  was  only  a  prompt  threat  of  reprisals  from  their  re- 
spective governments  that  effected  their  release  a  few 
days  later,  but  they  had  to  embark  from  Beirut  like 
fugitives  on  a  stormy  winter  night  in  order  to  make 
good  their  escape,  as  they  well  knew  that  the  Beirut 


The  Abrogation  of  the  Capitulations         75 

authorities  had  been  instructed  to  further  hinder  their 
departure  in  every  possible  way.  Thanks  to  the  prompt 
energy  of  the  American  Consul  General  in  Beirut,  Mr. 
Hollis,  and  of  the  Vice  Consul,  Mr.  Chesbrough,  they 
were  safe  on  board  the  Italian  ship,  from  which  the 
Turks  dared  not  remove  them,  when  the  Beirut  of- 
ficials awoke  to  their  duties  the  following  day.  The 
Russian  Consul  General  from  Beirut  was  less  for- 
tunate. He  was  arrested  and  sent  to  the  interior,  and 
was  subjected  to  such  indignities  on  the  way  as  only 
the  Turks,  inspired  by  the  Germans,  could  stoop  to 
invent. 

The  first  problem  which  confronted  Turkey  after 
she  had  decisively  committed  herself  for  the  war  was 
the  policy  that  she  should  adopt  toward  her  resident 
enemies.  There  were  thousands  of  enemy  subjects 
scattered  throughout  the  Empire,  and  the  general  fear 
on  the  part  of  the  foreigners  was  that  Turkey  would 
pursue  some  "  policy  of  f rightfulness  '*  in  regard  to 
them.  She  had  before  her  the  example  of  German 
brutality  which  struck  a  responsive  chord  in  the  cruel 
Turkish  temperament.  Only  the  facts  that  the  ma- 
jority of  these  belligerent  subjects  were  now  under 
American  protection,  and  that  Turkey  desired  the 
good-will  of  the  United  States,  prevented  the  Turks 
from  following  their  natural  bent.  America,  more- 
over, had  consistently  refused  to  recognize  the  abro- 
gation of  the  Capitulations,  and  insisted  on  the  ob- 
servance of  her  former  treaty  rights.  The  Germans, 
on  the  other  hand,  were  using  their  utmost  influence  to 
induce  the  Turks  to  deal  harshly  with  enemy  aliens. 


76  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

partictilarly  urging  the  advisability  of  detaining  for- 
eign residents  as  hostages  for  the  good  behaviour  of 
their  respective  governments.  Thanks  to  the  efforts 
of  the  American  Ambassador  at  Constantinople,  most 
of  the  foreign  residents  of  the  Capital  were  permitted 
to  leave  the  country,  but  those  in  the  interior  were 
never  given  such  an  opportunity.  As  long  as  Amer- 
ican prestige  proved  effective  there  was  no  organized 
oppression  of  belligerents  in  the  Empire;  but  as  Amer- 
lean  influence  gradually  declined,  and  as  German  in-- 
fluence  increased,  conditions  grew  very  serious  for  the 
subjects  of  nations  hostile  to  the  Ottoman  Empire. 
Turkey  was  relapsing  into  that  state  of  barbarism 
which  was  natural  and  congenial  to  her  and  which  only 
the  Capitulations  had  made  impossible. 

The  next  step  on  the  part  of  the  Ottoman  Govern- 
ment was  to  seize  foreign  property  and  institutions 
wherever  possible,  and  it  was  only  the  unflagging  zeal 
of  such  American  representatives  in  charge  of  bel- 
ligerent interests  in  the  provinces  as  the  American 
Consul  General  in  Beirut,  Honourable  W.  Stanley 
Hollis,  Consul  Glazebrook  of  Jerusalem,  Consul 
Young  of  Damascus,  and  Consul  Jackson  of  Aleppo 
that  thwarted  the  Turks  in  their  intention  of  making  a 
clean  sweep  of  enemy  property  in  Syria.  In  smaller 
places  where  there  were  no  consular  officials  at  hand, 
they  broke  into  schools  and  even  into  private  resi- 
dences, and  looted  and  destroyed  without  restraint. 
Most  of  the  belligerent  schools  were  occupied  at  one 
time  or  another  by  Turkish  troops,  who  so  befouled 
everything  they  touched  that  in  some  cases  the  build- 


The  Abrogation  of  the  Capitulations         77 

ings  will  have  to  be  torn  down  and  rebuilt  before  the 
premises  can  be  used  again  as  schools  or  as  residences. 
For  a  time  the  representations  of  the  American  Am- 
bassador at  the  Sublime  Porte  prevented  this  abuse  of 
foreign  property  in  larger  centers,  but  little  by  little 
the  aggressions  of  local  officials  increased,  and  their 
depredations,  being  apparently  unmarked  by  the  Cen- 
tral Government,  became  more  and  more  unrestrained. 
By  the  end  of  the  war  there  was  probably  not  a  build- 
ing in  the  Empire  which  had  belonged  to  belligerenta 
which  was  not  appropriated  and  converted  into  a  Turk- 
ish barrack,  a  school,  or  an  orphanage  for  the  chil- 
dren of  Turkish  soldiers. 

The  British  Consul  General  in  Beirut,  Mr.  Cumber- 
batch,  was  far-sighted  enough  to  realize  as  early  as 
September,  1914,  that  it  was  no  longer  safe  for  British 
residents  to  remain  in  Turkey.  He  sent  special  mes- 
sengers to  the  isolated  localities  where  British  subjects 
were  living  to  bring  them  to  Beirut,  and  about  the 
middle  of  September  he  sent  out  of  the  country  his 
family  and  as  many  Britishers  as  would  heed  his  warn- 
ing. He  himself  remained  until  early  November, 
leaving  only  after  the  actual  declaration  of  war  be- 
tween Turkey  and  his  government.  Unfortunately 
there  were  many  British  subjects  who  refused  to  leave 
the  country,  even  though  they  realized  that  they  were 
remaining  at  their  own  risk.  None  of  them  foresaw 
the  possibility  that  the  war  would  drag  out  for  four 
long  years.  Many  who  had  their  entire  capital  in- 
vested in  Turkey  preferred  to  remain  to  look  after 
their  interests.    A  niunber  of  missionaries,  also,  re- 


78  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

fused  to  leave  the  field  of  their  labours  and  the  Syrians 
dependent  on  them.  As  far  as  I  know,  no  other  for- 
eign colony  was  given  a  similar  opportunity  to  depart 
before  it  was  too  late,  and  most  of  them  paid  bitterly 
for  the  lack  of  foresight  of  their  representatives. 

In  December,  1914,  the  local  officials  in  Syria  and 
Palestine  were  instructed  to  deport  the  subjects  of 
belligerent  nations  resident  on  the  seacoast  into  the 
interior.  When  the  order  first  reached  Beirut,  the 
American  Consul  General,  Mr.  Hollis,  did  his  utmost 
through  Ambassador  Morgenthau  to  force  the  Sub- 
lime Porte  to  reverse  the  order.  During  the  day  or 
two  while  he  was  awaiting  instructions  from  Con- 
stantinople, Mr.  Hollis  advised  the  British  and  French 
subjects,  then  under  his  protection,  to  keep  out  of  the 
way  of  the  Turkish  police,  and  to  avoid  the  issue  until 
definite  advice  could  be  secured.  Some  two  score  or 
more  French  and  British  subjects  living  in  Beirut  took 
shelter  in  the  compound  of  the  Syrian  Protestant  Col- 
lege, which  offered  them  an  asylum  until  the  matter 
should  be  definitely  settled.  There  was  an  American 
cruiser,  the  North  Carolina,  in  the  harbour  in  those 
days,  and  every  one  knew  that  the  Turks  would  make 
no  attempt  forcibly  to  remove  any  one  whom  the  Amer- 
icans had  made  up  their  minds  to  protect  on  their  own 
premises.  The  word  came  back  from  Constantinople 
that  even  belligerents  connected  with  American  institu- 
tions, or  under  American  guarantees,  must  leave  for 
the  interior,  but  that  women  and  children  would  be 
exempt.  The  Turks,  wishing  to  draft  for  military 
service  the  graduates  of  the  Syrian  Protestant  Col- 


The  Abrogation  of  the  Capitulations         79 

lege  Medical  School,  exempted  also  three  British  doc- 
tors who  were  important  men  in  the  medical  depart- 
ment. The  Constantinople  newspapers  subsequently 
commented  on  the  fact  that  Turkey  had  thereby  forced 
British  subjects  to  contribute  toward  the  Turkish  mili- 
tary campaign ! 

On  December  9,  1914,  the  first  deportees,  a  forlorn 
little  band  of  British,  French  and  Russian  subjects, 
with  here  and  there  a  Belgian,  or  a  subject  of  one  of 
the  Balkan  kingdoms,  were  packed  into  the  train  and 
taken  to  Damascus,  where  they  were  held  as  civil  pris- 
oners. In  the  beginning  they  were  not  badly  treated. 
They  were  permitted  to  live  in  hotels,  or  even  in 
private  houses;  and  were  required  only  to  report  at 
the  Police  Station  for  registration  once  a  day.  How- 
ever, there  were  many  hardships  to  be  endured  by 
those  who  were  thus  exiled,  especially  as  at  one  time 
they  were  in  the  position  of  hostages  rather  than  mere 
interns,  when  Jemal  Pasha  threatened  to  exact  re- 
prisals on  them  in  connection  with  a  British  naval 
demonstration  against  Alexandretta.  Families  were 
separated,  the  men  being  taken  into  the  interior,  and 
the  women  being  left  in  their  former  residences  to 
suffer  the  most  wearing  anxiety  due  to  mistrust  of  the 
Turk.  Old  men  and  sick  men  were  taken,  as  well  as 
men  of  military  age ;  and  some  that  went  to  live  in  the 
interior  went  practically  penniless,  as  the  order  came 
so  suddenly  that  they  had  no  time  to  prepare  for  the 
journey.  One  of  the  most  sickening  days  of  my  whole 
life  in  Turkey  during  the  war  was  that  immediately 
preceding  that  deportation.     Several  members  of  our 


8o  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

little  Anglo  American  community  came  into  the  Amer- 
ican Press,  where  I  was  working,  to  leave  in  American 
hands  their  wills,  their  valuables,  and  their  final  in- 
structions. As  we  accepted  their  commissions  and 
wished  them  Godspeed,  we  tried  to  smile,  but  we  dared 
not  look  into  those  haggard  faces,  for  fear  the  tears 
that  lay  so  near  the  surface  would  overflow. 

Of  those  that  went  into  exile  that  dreary  December 
morning  some  never  returned,  but  were  buried  in  the 
interior.  The  majority  were  held  nearly  four  years 
as  civil  interned  prisoners  until  shortly  before  the 
signature  of  the  Turkish  Armistice  on  October  31, 
1918.  Only  some  few  drifted  back,  largely  through 
the  efforts  of  friends  who  had  influence  in  Constanti- 
nople. About  a  dozen  were  released  from  Damascus 
on  December  22,  1914,  arriving  in  Beirut  in  time  for 
Christmas;  and  they  were  permitted  to  remain  until 
April  6,  1916,  when  they  were  again  deported,  this 
time  until  the  end  of  the  war.  After  a  great  deal  of 
wire-pulling,  certain  elderly  men,  or  men  useful  to  the 
Turks,  such  as  the  Belgian  Director  of  the  Tram  Com- 
pany, the  French  Manager  of  the  Electric  Company, 
and  others,  were  finally  granted  a  permanent  exemp- 
tion. 

There  is  no  space  here  to  tell  the  story  of  the  exile 
of  those  belligerent  friends  of  ours;  but,  no  doubt, 
some  one  of  them  may  himself  one  day  give  his  story 
to  the  world.  Suffice  it  to  say  here  that  later  the 
women  also  were  deported  to  Aleppo,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  whose  physical  condition  even  the  Turks 
recognized  as  too  delicate  to  permit  them  to  mate  the 


The  Abrogation  of  the  Capitulations         8 1 

journey.  Later  all  the  belligerents,  men,  women  and 
children,  were  deported  even  further  into  the  interior, 
to  Urfa,  in  the  Mesopotamian  Valley.  Here  they  wit- 
nessed all  the  horrors  of  one  of  the  two  Armenian 
massacres  before  the  women  were  transported  to  the 
seacoast  at  Alexandretta,  whence  they  were  removed 
by  an  American  cruiser.  After  the  second  massacre  of 
the  Armenians,  the  men  were  returned  to  Anatolia 
and  were  scattered  in  isolated  and  out-of-the-way 
Turkish  villages  about  Konia,  Sivas  and  Angora.  The 
life  of  these  men,  who  knew  no  Turkish  in  these  Turk- 
ish-speaking towns,  who  were  cut  off  in  many  cases 
from  all  communication  with  their  relatives  and 
friends,  and  who  were  subjected  to  the  thousand  and 
one  petty  annoyances,  insults,  and  dangers,  the  inven- 
tion of  which  so  delights  the  Turkish  provincial  of- 
ficial, can  only  be  left  to  the  imagination.  Indeed, 
after  the  Armistice  it  was  almost  as  if  the  dead  had 
come  to  life  at  the  trumpet-call  of  the  new  era.  Young 
men  grown  old,  old  men  with  tottering  steps  and  child- 
ish minds,  good  men  grown  evil,  and  evil  men  grown 
brutal,  arose  from  their  long  imprisonment  and  re- 
appeared in  the  world  of  the  active.  Some  of  us,  who 
were  either  more  hopeful  or  more  ignorant  than  the 
rest,  had  deplored  the  hopeless  pessimism  with  which 
these  same  men  had  left  our  midst  four  years  before; 
but  that  tragic  roll-call  when  they  reassembled  con- 
vinced us,  even  if  the  events  of  the  past  four  years  had 
not  already  done  so,  that  they  were  wiser  than  we  in 
dreading  the  future  which  placed  them  at  the  mercy  of 
the  Turk's  brutality. 


VI 

THE  AMERICAN  RED  CROSS  TO  THE 

RESCUE 

AS  Americans  our  position  in  the  Empire  was 
unique,  and  for  some  time  indeed  enviable. 
Diplomatically  we  had  enjoyed  the  privileges 
of  the  "most  favoured  nation,"  and  practically  that 
was  exactly  our  position  during  nearly  three  of  the 
four  years  of  the  war.  The  reasons  for  this  were 
several.  Turkey  undoubtedly  realized  early  in  her 
alliance  with  Germany  that  she  must  not  look  to  her 
ally  for  material  financial  support;  and  like  many  an- 
other impoverished  nation,  she  began  to  speculate  on 
the  possibility  of  diverting  to  herself  some  of  America's 
immense  wealth.  Politically  also  she  was  in  desperate 
need  of  a  friend;  and  she  fondly  hoped  that  the  sym- 
pathies of  America,  the  great  neutral  nation,  might 
with  a  little  diplomacy  be  enlisted  in  her  behalf  when 
the  final  day  of  reckoning  should  come,  and  when 
Turkey  should  have  no  other  friend  at  the  peace-table 
to  champion  her  cause. 

We  only  dimly  realized  these  things  in  the  early  days 
of  the  war,  and  wondered  that  we  as  Americans  en- 
joyed so  many  privileges.  American  consular  repre- 
sentatives were  allowed  to  affix  their  official  seals  to 

82 


The  American  Red  Cross  to  the  Rescue      83 

certain  of  the  buildings  belonging  to  the  British  which 
the  Turks  were  most  anxious  to  seize  and  occupy,  and 
for  months  those  seals  were  left  intact.  American  of- 
ficial interference  in  behalf  of  belligerent  subjects  was 
tolerated  in  a  way  that  surprised  us,  and  for  several 
months  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  British  missions 
from  Syria,  the  American  Press  was  permitted  to  con- 
tinue the  salaries  of  their  native  employees  in  accord- 
ance with  lists  received  by  what  we  called  "  the  under- 
ground mail  route."  This  latter  form  of  relief,  how- 
ever, soon  became  too  dangerous  to  be  continued,  as 
the  Turks  pretended  to  look  with  suspicion  on  such 
transactions,  which  might  be  interpreted  as  British 
propaganda  and  the  support  of  British  agents.  It  was 
more  for  the  safety  of  the  Syrian  employees  of  the 
British  missions  than  from  any  concern  for  the  Press 
itself  that  these  payments  were  eventually  discontinued, 
although  the  result  was  that  many  of  the  valuable 
Syrian  teachers  and  assistants  in  other  departments  of 
the  mission  work,  all  of  whom  had  been  educated  and 
supported  by  the  British  missionaries,  died  of  disease 
and  starvation  during  the  absence  of  their  patrons 
from  Syria. 

Encouraged  by  the  apparent  good-will  of  the  Otto- 
man authorities,  the  American  community  of  Beirut 
determined  to  inaugurate  a  campaign  against  the  dis- 
tress prevalent  throughout  the  country.  The  organiza- 
tion was  ready  to  hand.  There  was  existent  a  five- 
year-old  Chapter  of  the  American  National  Red  Cross 
(the  first  ever  established  outside  of  the  United  States 
or  its  dependencies),  founded  at  the  time  of  the  Arme- 


84  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

nian  massacres  of  1909.  By  the  time  that  the  Beirut 
Red  Cross  Chapter  had  decided  to  undertake  active 
relief-work,  Turkey  was  in  reality  at  war  with  Eng- 
land, France  and  Russia,  and  the  country  was  already 
afflicted  with  all  the  misery  which  in  most  cases  exists 
only  as  a  direct  result  of  active  military  campaigns. 
But  even  had  Turkey  not  actually  entered  the  arena, 
the  Chapter  would  have  felt  amply  justified  in  making 
plans  for  relief -work  which  could  be  truly  defined  as 
an  attempt  to  "  mitigate  the  suffering  caused  by  .  .  . 
great  national  calamities,  and  to  devise  and  carry  on 
measures  for  preventing  the  same.'*  *  That  was  in  the 
early  days  of  American  Red  Cross  activity  in  connec- 
tion with  the  European  War,  before  the  tremendous 
drain  upon  the  resources  of  the  organization  made  it 
necessary  for  the  National  Society  to  adopt  the  reso- 
lution that  its  funds  should  be  used  solely  for  Euro- 
pean relief  for  sick  and  wounded  of  the  armies  of  all 
nations  then  at  war. 

In  December,  1914,  the  Beirut  Chapter  of  the  Amer- 
ican National  Red  Cross  held  its  annual  meeting  and 
elected  officers  for  the  coming  year.  Honourable  W. 
Stanley  Hollis,  the  American  Consul  General  at  Beirut, 
consented  to  serve  as  President  of  the  Chapter.  Pro- 
fessor James  A.  Patch  of  the  Syrian  Protestant  Col- 
lege was  elected  Vice-President;  Mr.  Dana,  Manager 
of  the  American  Press,  Treasurer;  and  myself.  Secre- 
tary. Three  additional  members  were  elected  to  the 
Executive  Committee:  Mr.  Bayard  Dodge,  Mrs.  H.  G. 
Dorman,  and  Mrs.  H.  H.  Nelson,  all  of  the  Syrian 
*Red  Cross  Byrhws, 


The  American  Red  Cross  to  the  Rescue      85 

Protestant  College.  Later  Professor  Robert  B.  Reed, 
in  charge  of  the  Employment  Department  for  Men, 
and  Miss  Anna  Jessup,  director  of  the  same  work  for 
women,  were  invited  to  become  associate  members. 
At  the  end  of  the  following  year  political  conditions 
in  Syria  were  such  that  it  was  impossible  to  call  the 
regular  annual  meeting  of  the  entire  Chapter,  and  it 
was  informally  agreed  that  the  same  officers  should 
continue  to  serve.  In  compliance  with  the  request  from 
the  State  Department  in  Washington  that  consular 
officials  should  not  hold  office  in  Red  Cross  Chapters, 
Mr.  Hollis  resigned,  and  Mr.  Patch  was  elected  Presi- 
dent. Professor  J.  Stewart  Crawford  of  the  Syrian 
Protestant  College  then  became  Vice-President.  The 
Executive  Committee  comprised  this  personnel  during 
the  full  term  of  its  service  in  connection  with  the 
Great  War;  and  even  after  the  cessation  of  the  activi- 
ties of  the  American  Red  Cross  in  Syria,  certain  mem- 
bers of  the  former  Executive  Committee  continued  to 
serve  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  Permanent  Com- 
mittee for  American  Relief  in  Syria.  In  other  words, 
the  members  of  the  Red  Cross  Executive  Committee 
were  in  charge  of  all  the  relief-work  that  was  accom- 
plished in  Syria  with  American  funds  during  the  last 
five  years.  To  them  belongs  the  credit  for  the  truly 
remarkable  achievements  of  American  philanthropy 
during  this  dark  period,  and  to-day  they  are  still  held 
responsible  by  the  charitable  organizations  at  home 
for  the  proper  administration  of  the  funds. 

At  the  December,  1914,  meeting,  the  Chapter  em- 
powered the  Executive  Committee  to  direct  the  work 


86  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

of  investigation  of  local  needs  through  poverty  and  suf- 
fering; to  appoint  sub-committees,  including  Syrians; 
and  to  administer  all  funds  with  a  view  to  promoting 
the  general  usefulness  of  the  Society.  The  Executive 
Committee  formulated  its  campaign  along  two  distinct 
lines  of  relief:  first,  the  preparation  and  dispatch  of 
a  Hospital  Expedition  to  the  Fourth  Ottoman  Army 
Corps  in  the  campaign  against  Egypt ;  and  second,  the 
organization  of  a  local  relief-committee  to  minister  to 
the  immediate  distress  among  the  civilian  population 
of  Syria.  The  civilian  relief-work  was  organized  in 
three  departments :  employment,  flour-distribution,  and 
assistance  to  the  families  of  Ottoman  soldiers  in  ob- 
taining from  the  Government  the  promised  allowance 
for  support. 

An  appeal  for  funds  was  forwarded  to  the  National 
Headquarters  in  Washington,  and  a  prompt  response 
came  in  the  form  of  $10,000.  This  amount  was  sup- 
plemented from  time  to  time;  and  by  November,  1916, 
the  Beirut  Chapter  had  received  from  Washington  an 
^ggr^g^te  sum  of  $83,641.55  for  relief  purposes.  This 
sum  was  further  augmented  by  considerable  private 
donations  and  by  large  grants  from  relief-societies  all 
over  the  world.  In  the  autumn  of  1916  the  Armenian 
and  Syrian  Relief  Committee  took  over  the  support  of 
relief-work  in  the  Ottoman  Empire,  and  in  January, 
1917,  made  a  grant  to  Syria  of  $50,000.  An  addi- 
tional $700,000  was  invested  in  food  and  clothing 
to  be  dispatched  as  a  Christmas  present  to  Syria  from 
the  American  public.  Two  days  in  October,  1916, 
had  been  appointed  by  President  Wilson  as  gift-days 


The  American  Red  Cross  to  the  Rescue      87 

for  Armenia  and  Syria,  and  America  had  responded 
generously  to  the  appeal. 

The  responsibility  for  the  organization  and  man- 
agement of  the  Medical  Relief  Expedition  was  en- 
trusted by  the  Executive  Committee  to  the  Faculty  of 
the  Syrian  Protestant  College  as  a  sub-committee  for 
medical  relief.  Under  their  able  direction  a  hospital 
unit  was  organized  and  equipped.  This  was  accepted 
by  Jemal  Pasha,  the  Commander  of  the  Fourth  Otto- 
man Army,  and  the  agreement  was  that  the  unit  should 
serve  as  a  tent-hospital  of  two  hundred  beds  at  Hafir 
el-Aujah,  a  station  on  the  Egyptian  frontier,  one  day's 
ride  from  Beersheba.  Dr.  E.  St.  John  Ward,  Pro- 
fessor of  Surgery  in  the  Syrian  Protestant  College, 
was  appointed  director  of  the  expedition,  and  Rev. 
George  C.  Doollttle  of  the  American  Mission,  associate 
director.  The  rest  of  the  staff  consisted  of  Dr. 
Naimeh  Nucho,  pathologist;  Dr.  Athman  Saadeh,  as- 
sistant pathologist;  Dr.  Atiyeh,  assistant  surgeon; 
twelve  seniors  from  the  Syrian  Protestant  College 
Medical  School  as  orderlies;  two  pharmacists,  one 
dentist,  and  four  sisters  of  the  Kaiserswerth  as  nurses, 
making  a  staff  of  twenty- four.  In  the  preparation  and 
equipment  of  the  hospital  unit  all  the  labourers  were 
furnished  by  the  Employment  Bureau  of  the  local 
relief-committee.  The  expedition  carried  with  it  a 
fully  equipped  operating  tent,  and  a  pharmacy  tent 
supplied  with  a  three  months*  stock  of  medicines.  The 
expedition  left  Beirut  on  January  21,  1915,  and  pro- 
ceeded safely  to  Hafir  el-Aujah,  where  the  hospital 
was  established.     They  remained  two  months,  return- 


88  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

ing  to  Beirut  March  27th.  During  the  time  of  their 
service  they  treated  about  two  hundred  and  twenty  pa- 
tients. The  fact  that  this  number  is  so  small  is  not  a 
commentary  on  the  efficiency  of  the  hospital  unit,  but 
is  a  revelation  of  conditions  in  the  Turkish  Army. 
Of  that  ill-starred  expedition  very  few  survivors  ever 
returned.  The  Turkish  forces  were  practically  wiped 
out.  Those  that  escaped  the  British  bullets  succumbed 
to  disease  and  starvation  in  the  desert.  Many  bands 
of  stragglers  either  lost  their  way  in  the  wilderness,  or 
perished  in  the  terrible  sandstorms  which  overwhelm 
the  wandering  traveller.  Of  those  who  were  wounded 
in  the  campaign  only  the  merest  handful  received  med- 
ical aid  at  the  front,  and  none  but  the  hardiest  could 
survive  the  dreadful  two-days  journey  on  camels  to 
the  Red  Cross  hospital  at  Beersheba. 

On  May  4,  1915,  the  Beirut  Chapter  received  an 
urgent  appeal  from  the  American  Ambassador  at  Con- 
stantinople for  the  immediate  services  of  a  hospital 
unit  to  aid  in  caring  for  the  wounded  of  the  Gallipoli 
campaign.  The  Ambassador  offered  transportation 
for  the  party  by  the  U.  S.  Collier  Vulcan,  then  in  Turk- 
ish waters.  The  Beirut  Chapter  voted  to  send  the  ex- 
pedition, and  the  Syrian  Protestant  College  generously 
agreed  again  to  liberate  Dn  Ward,  together  with  Miss 
Van  Zandt,  and  Miss  Nightingale,  nurses  in  the  Col- 
lege Hospitals.  The  party  left  on  the  Vulcan  May 
16th,  and  remained  in  Constantinople  until  August. 

By  the  middle  of  May,  1915,  only  five  months  after 
the  commencement  of  organized  Red  Cross  work  in 
Syria,  when  the  annual  report  of  the  Beirut  Chapter 


The  American  Red  Cross  to  the  Rescue      89 

was  submitted  to  the  National  Headquarters  in  Wash- 
ington, the  hospital  unit  to  Beersheba  had  been  dis- 
patched, and  had  returned  to  Beirut.  The  second  hos- 
pital unit  was  on  its  way  to  Constantinople,  and  the 
local  relief-work  was  proceeding  in  smooth-running 
order.  Arrangements  had  been  made  in  cooperation 
with  the  municipality  for  the  employment  of  able- 
bodied  men  in  a  crusade  for  cleaning  and  repairing  the 
streets,  and  in  a  general  campaign  of  sanitation.  The 
city  had  been  plotted  out  in  twelve  districts,  each  under 
the  supervision  of  an  American  woman,  members  of 
the  College  or  Mission  communities;  and  in  each  of 
these  districts,  after  careful  personal  investigation  by 
the  district  superintendent,  a  list  of  worthy  candidates 
was  prepared.  Flour,  a  week's  portion  at  a  time,  was 
doled  out  to  those  families  of  destitute  women  and 
children  who  had  no  wage-earners  to  support  them. 
Later  a  Women's  Employment  Bureau  was  instituted, 
with  special  emphasis  on  lacemaking  and  needlework 
for  which  there  was  always  a  good  sale. 

The  relief-work  in  Syria  was  centered  in  Beirut  for 
two  reasons:  the  Central  Committee  was  located  there, 
and  the  Beirut  Chapter  as  such  was  directly  respon- 
sible to  the  National  Committee  in  Washington  for  the 
proper  administration  of  the  funds  appropriated  to 
Syria.  Moreover,  there  was  a  greater  need  In  Beirut 
and  its  Immediate  vicinity  than  In  any  other  one  local- 
ity. Obviously  a  crowded  city  presents  more  prob- 
lems than  the  rural  districts,  and  the  situation  In  Beirut, 
a  city  dependent  on  commerce  and  trade,  was  more 
desperate  than  that  In  such  a  city  as  Aleppo,  or  Damas- 


90  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

cus,  which  are  centers  of  internal  economy.  Beirut 
was  the  gathering-point  for  the  destitute  of  the  coun- 
try for  miles  around.  Immigrants  from  Lebanon  who 
had  been  starved  or  frozen  out  of  their  former  homes 
flocked  to  the  city  in  the  hope  of  finding  work  there. 
It  was  estimated  at  one  time  that  there  were  as  many 
as  forty  thousand  homeless  and  destitute  people  in 
Beirut  who  had  assembled  there  from  all  over  the 
country.  The  funds  at  the  disposal  of  the  Red  Cross 
workers  were  limited,  and  it  seemed  wiser  to  do  a 
little  thoroughly  than  to  attempt  too  much  and  accom- 
plish little  for  want  of  concentration.  Appropria- 
tions were,  however,  granted  from  Beirut  to  other 
cities,  among  them  Homs,  Tripoli,  Sidon  and  Tyre, 
Damascus,  Haifa  and  one  or  two  of  the  larger  villages 
in  Lebanon,  to  be  disbursed  according  to  the  judgment 
of  the  Americans  resident  there.  In  most  of  these 
places  the  work  was  conducted  along  practically  the 
same  lines  as  the  work  in  Beirut. 

The  work  of  the  Red  Cross  proceeded  smoothly  un- 
til August,  1915,  when  it  was  suddenly  terminated  by 
an  open  exhibition  of  hostility  on  the  part  of  the 
Turkish  authorities.  The  Governor  of  Beirut,  Azmi 
Bey,  had  made  no  secret  of  the  fact  that  he  had  been 
chafing  under  what  he  considered  the  impudent  inter- 
ference of  the  Americans  in  civil  and  municipal  af- 
fairs. He  had  undoubtedly  been  awaiting  the  oppor- 
tunity to  strike  in  a  way  that  would  at  once  cripple  the 
Red  Cross  activities  and  humiliate  the  American  per- 
sonnel. It  matters  not  that  the  nominal  aggressors 
were  underlings,  minor  police  officials.     None  of  them 


The  American  Red  Cross  to  the  Rescue      91 

would  have  risked  his  position  in  such  a  move  had  he 
not  been  certain  of  the  temper  of  his  superiors.  The 
blow  fell  suddenly  and  took  the  form  of  the  arrest  of 
Mrs.  Dale,  Superintendent  of  the  American  College 
Hospitals  in  Beirut.  She  was  directing  the  relief- 
work  in  her  district  when  the  police  arrested  her  to- 
gether with  several  of  her  Syrian  assistants.  They 
were  conducted  to  the  central  police  station,  where 
they  were  detained  until  the  personal  representations 
of  her  brother.  Dr.  Frederick  Bliss,  effected  her  release. 
The  matter  roused  a  storm  of  feeling  both  on  the  part 
of  the  Americans  and  of  the  Syrians  who  had  benefited 
by  their  activities,  and  who  felt  that  their  very  lives 
depended  upon  the  continuance  of  the  Red  Cross  work. 
However,  the  matter  being  thus  brought  to  an  issue, 
the  Governor  expressed  himself  emphatically  as  an- 
tagonistic to  any  such  usurpation  by  foreigners  of  his 
own  prerogatives,  and  the  Red  Cross  was  forced  to 
discontinue  its  work  in  the  Beirut  municipality. 

In  Lebanon,  however,  the  Governor,  Ali  Munlf 
Bey,  took  an  entirely  different  attitude,  and  intimated 
that  he  would  be  not  only  willing  but  grateful,  if  the 
American  Red  Cross  might  transfer  to  the  province 
under  his  jurisdiction  the  relief  machinery  which  had 
operated  so  eflfectively  in  Beirut.  He  stipulated 
merely  that  the  Red  Cross  should  consent  to  a  nominal 
cooperation  with  a  committee  of  the  Ottoman  Red 
Crescent  created  for  the  purpose,  which  comprised  a 
group  of  men  so  tolerant  and  so  acceptable  to  the 
Americans  that  the  most  cordial  relations  were  pos- 
sible between  the  representatives  of  the  two  committees. 


92  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

The  Red  Cross  Executive  Committee  elected  as  repre- 
sentatives to  the  joint  relief-committee  Mr.  Patch  and 
Mr.  Crawford  from  the  College,  and  Mr.  Dana  and 
Mr.  Doolittle  from  the  Mission.  The  leading  spirit 
among  the  Red  Crescent  representatives  was  Judge 
Mohammed  Effendi  Abou  Izzedine.  His  death  from 
typhus  during  the  winter  of  1917  proved  a  serious 
blow  to  the  relief-work  in  Lebanon;  so  much  was  his 
heart  in  the  undertaking  that  during  his  last  illness  he 
worked  in  bed  over  the  details  of  organization  as  long 
as  his  strength  permitted,  and  in  his  delirious  ravings 
he  lamented  over  the  suffering  in  Lebanon  which 
weighed  so  heavily  on  his  mind. 

The  joint  relief-committee  continued  to  operate  for 
five  months,  from  December,  1916,  to  April,  1917, 
when  America  entered  the  war.  Mr.  Doolittle  took 
up  his  residence  in  Ba'abda,  the  seat  of  the  Lebanon 
Government,  in  charge  of  the  relief-bureau  there,  but 
the  other  members  of  the  Red  Cross  committee  were 
obliged  to  make  several  trips  to  Ba'abda  each  week  dur- 
ing the  worst  winter  weather.  I  shall  always  have  a 
vivid  memory  of  these  gentlemen,  clad  in  rubber  coats 
and  high  boots,  setting  out  in  the  rain  on  their  cold,  dis- 
mal journey  to  a  committee-meeting  in  the  mountain 
village  an  hour  distant.  They  travelled  frequently  on 
foot,  occasionally  by  carriage,  or  on  horseback. 

The  meetings  of  the  full  Beirut  Executive  Commit- 
tee were  continued  all  through  that  winter,  as  the  four 
representatives  to  the  joint-committee  were  not  em- 
powered to  act  without  specific  instructions.  Every 
important  project  was  reported  to  the  Executive  Com- 


The  American  Red  Cross  to  the  Rescue      93 

mittee  before  action  was  taken,  and  the  representatives 
were  instructed  in  detail  as  to  their  policy  in  any  vital 
matter.  This  seemed  necessary  as  a  safeguard  against 
possible  machinations  on  the  part  of  the  Turks. 

The  relief -work  in  Lebanon  was  carried  on  along 
much  the  same  lines  as  the  work  in  Beirut,  and  for  sev- 
eral months  the  Red  Cross  Chapter  was  privileged  to 
direct  an  enterprise  which  gave  vent  to  the  energies 
and  sympathies  of  its  members.  Anything  was  better 
than  being  idle  at  a  time  of  such  great  distress  1 

In  the  autumn  of  1916  the  Armenian  and  Syrian 
Relief  Committee  announced  that  its  Christmas  pres- 
ent to  Syria  was  a  shipload  of  food  and  clothing,  which 
was  to  be  transported  to  the  Syrian  coast  by  the  U.  S. 
Collier  Ccesar,  under  the  consent  of  the  Allies  and  the 
guarantee  of  safe  conduct  from  the  Germans  and  the 
Austrians.  For  about  three  months  the  Beirut  Com- 
mittee, in  collaboration  with  the  Red  Crescent,  turned 
all  its  wits  and  energies  to  preparing  for  the  arrival  of 
"  the  Christmas  ship."  Warehouses  were  secured,  ar- 
rangements completed  for  docking  and  unloading  the 
precious  cargo  and  guarding  it  against  possible  at- 
tempts at  confiscation  by  the  Beirut  authorities.  The 
Red  Cross  Executive  Committee,  of  which  I  was  then 
secretary,  held  three  and  four  hour  sessions  three 
evenings  each  week  over  the  knotty  problems  con- 
nected with  safeguarding  the  relief  supplies  from  the 
moment  of  their  arrival  until  they  were  delivered  to 
the  most  needy  Syrians  outside  of  Beirut,  and  yet  ac- 
cessible from  Beirut.  From  the  very  outset  we  had 
determined  that  the  Vali's  attitude  precluded  any  pos- 


94  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

sibility  of  aiding  Beirut's  residents,  and  we  resolved 
that  we  would  make  a  serious  issue  of  the  question 
rather  than  allow  one  grain  of  wheat  to  fall  into  the 
granaries  of  the  corrupt  officials  of  the  Beirut  munici- 
pality. More  than  one  thousand  villages  in  Lebanon 
were  personally  visited  by  Red  Cross  agents  and  lists 
of  needy  individuals  were  made  up  in  three  categories 
in  order  of  need.  The  plan  was  so  perfected  that  im- 
mediately upon  the  arrival  of  the  CcBsar  the  cargo  could 
be  unloaded  and  distributed  to  centers  where  detailed 
lists  of  candidates  for  relief  were  in  readiness. 

The  expected  arrival  of  the  ship  had  been  generally 
advertised  by  the  American  and  European  newspapers 
circulated  in  Syria,  and  also,  indirectly,  by  the  special 
preparations  devolving  upon  the  joint-committee  for 
relief.  The  whole  country  was  literally  living  on  ex- 
pectation. One  of  our  community  met  an  old  man 
coming  out  of  a  bakery  holding  in  his  hand  the  "  chalk 
and  alum  and  plaster  .  .  .  sold  to  the  poor  for 
bread."  He  was  shaking  his  head  over  the  unappetiz- 
ing and  unnutritious  lump  and  muttering  to  himself, 
"Bad  bread  to-day,  bad  bread  to-morrow;  the  next 
day  the  American  ship  comes."  What  then  happened 
was  the  greatest  tragedy  of  the  war  in  Syria.  You  in 
America  perhaps  know  better  than  we  just  why  the 
Christmas  ship  never  came,  although  we  are  only  just 
beginning  to  apprehend  the  political  complications 
which  spelled  death  and  disaster  in  Syria,  and  sore 
heartache  for  those  of  us  who  had  given  months  of  our 
time  and  thought  to  the  successful  execution  of  this 
project 


The  American  Red  Cross  to  the  Rescue      95 

The  ship  reached  Alexandria  safely ;  and  as  soon  as 
its  arrival  there  was  reported  in  Syria,  every  one  ex- 
pected that  it  would  reach  Beirut  without  further  de- 
lay. But  it  never  reached  Beirut!  Its  arrival  was 
postponed  from  week  to  week,  and  from  month  to 
month,  until  one  day  the  whole  country  awoke  to 
realization  of  the  fact  that  it  was  never  coming.  The 
failure  of  a  ship  to  reach  port  is  one  of  the  most 
familiar  tragedies  of  life.  Shakespeare  has  vividly  in- 
terpreted for  us  in  The  Merchant  of  Venice  what  the 
loss  of  a  vessel  means  to  an  adventurous  business  man 
who  has  invested  his  full  fortune  in  its  cargo.  The 
whole  world  turns  sick  wiih  horror  over  such  a  catas- 
trophe as  the  loss  of  the  Titanic,  or  the  sinking  of  the 
Lusitania,  each  with  its  precious  freight  of  human 
life.  In  these  days  of  mammoth  vessels  such  a  dis- 
aster means  the  death  of  hundreds,  or  even  thousands. 
But  the  failure  of  the  Ccesar  to  reach  Syria  meant  the 
loss  of  tens  of  thousands.  The  official  statistics  for 
the  month  succeeding  the  announcement  that  the  sail- 
ing had  been  cancelled  show  a  higher  rate  of  mortality 
than  any  other  one  month  during  the  war.  Literally 
hundreds  died  of  disappointment.  It  had  been  a  case 
of  "while  there  is  hope  there  is  life."  Thousands 
had  been  living  on  scanty  rations  with  the  expectation 
that  a  day  of  comparative  plenty  was  ahead.  Others 
had  borrowed  against  the  time  when  they  might  repay 
by  sharing  their  rations  from  the  Ccesar's  cargo. 
When  they  at  last  realized  that  the  ship  was  not  to 
come  and  that  their  credit  was  no  longer  good,  their 
last  hope  for  the  future  set;  they  had  no  further  cour- 


96  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

age  to  live,  and  nothing  to  live  for.  Oh,  the  tragedy 
of  that  bitter  disappointment !  I  must  confess  that  we 
who  had  given  so  much  of  ourselves  for  the  success 
of  this  enterprise  of  American  philanthropy  and 
Christmas  good-will  felt  that  we  had  been  deserted  by 
the  home-committee  and  left  to  cope  unaided  with  the 
desperate  situation  in  the  land  to  which  we  had  pledged 
our  support.  We  now  know  that  it  was  not  the  fault 
of  either  the  Relief-Committee  at  home,  nor  of  our 
Government.  Once  again  Syria,  and  particularly  the 
civil  population  of  Syria,  had  been  the  victim  of  in- 
ternational politics. 

In  April,  1917,  the  breaking  of  relations  between 
America  and  Turkey  placed  the  Americans  in  the 
Empire  in  a  position  practically  amounting  to  that  of 
belligerents,  and  with  the  loss  of  our  neutral  status  the 
possibility  of  overt  humane  service  was  closed  to  us. 
The  Beirut  Chapter  of  the  Red  Cross  continued  to 
operate  in  a  quiet  way  until  it  had  expended  the  funds 
in  hand  at  the  declaration  of  hostilities,  but  in  June, 
1917,  it  held  its  last  meeting.  From  then  onward 
until  the  end  of  the  war  a  local  relief -committee, 
financially  backed  by  the  personal  guarantee  of  the 
members  of  the  American  Mission,  continued  the 
philanthropic  service,  although  it  was  necessary  to  re- 
vise the  whole  metJiod  qf  x^or^^ure;. 


yii 

THE  AMERICAN  MISSION  PRESS  IN  A 
NEW  r6lE 

THE  peculiar  exigencies  of  such  a  crisis  as  the 
recent  World-War  have  submitted  institu- 
tions as  well  as  individuals  to  an  analysis 
which  has  lowered  the  mighty  and  exalted  the  humble. 
Many  a  respected  citizen  has  proved  himself  a 
"  slacker/'  and  many  a  town  "  tough  "  has  covered 
himself  and  his  community  with  glory.  Fortunes  have 
been  made  and  lost  in  a  day  in  war  speculations,  kings 
have  been  elevated  or  cast  down.  Business-houses 
with  a  long-established  reputation  have  forfeited  pub- 
lic esteem  by  their  conduct  during  the  national  crisis; 
and  others  have  sprung  from  obscurity  to  world-promi- 
nence. The  general  call  to  arms  inaugurated  new 
standards  of  value.  In  these  last  five  years  men  and 
institutions  have  been  rated  according  to  their  relation 
to  the  vital  issues  at  stake,  and  not  with  regard  to 
their  pre-war  status.  It  is  as  if  the  war  had  destroyed 
the  whole  existing  order,  and  created  a  new  era  with 
new  standards.  The  missionary  who,  perhaps,  previ- 
ous to  the  war,  was  ridiculed  for  the  eccentricity  of 
his  appearance,  or  his  absorption  in  the  problems  of  a 
remote  foreign  locality,  has  now  been  called  to  advise 
with  those  empowered  to  determine  the  fate  of  nations, 

97 


98  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

On  the  other  hand,  the  potentate  who  was  powerful 
enough  to  plunge  the  whole  world  into  turmoil  is  to  be 
tried  as  a  common  criminal;  and  while  his  fate  is  yet 
undecided,  passes  his  days  felling  trees  on  an  estate  in 
Holland. 

In  this  general  social  and  commercial  upheaval  the 
American  Presbyterian  Mission-Press  at  Beirut  has 
known  its  share  of  the  radical  transformation.  What 
was  five  years  ago  an  obscure  mission  printing-house 
has  to-day  international  recognition  not  only  as  a  com- 
mercial and  banking  institution,  but  also  as  a  relief- 
center  similar  to  a  charity-bureau  in  one  of  the  great 
American  cities.  The  soul  of  the  enterprise  has  been 
transfigured,  and  yet  its  physical  appearance  is  the 
same.  Even  the  face  and  form  of  a  man  alter  as 
his  mental  and  spiritual  capacity  increase,  but  the 
American  Press  is  still  lodged  in  a  building  which 
gives  no  hint  of  its  internal  transformation.  From  a 
dingy  office  in  a  patchwork  building,  which  was  once 
the  Mission-Church,  the  Press  Management  directs 
transactions  which  involve  annually  the  manipulation 
of  millions  of  dollars.  In  this  building  are  housed  the 
Treasury  of  the  American  Presbyterian  Mission  in 
Syria,  and  of  all  the  relief-societies  operating  in  Syria; 
the  financial  correspondents  for  Syria  of  the  Standard 
Oil  Company  of  New  York;  the  agents  of  the  Amer- 
ican Bible  Society;  not  to  mention  another  tremendous 
commercial  and  financial  enterprise.  And  yet  the 
name  painted  over  the  door  is  simply  The  American 
Press,  and  even  this  brief  title  is  popularly  clipped  to 
the  Press, 


The  American  Mission  Press  in  a  New  R61e    99 

Experience  has  taught  that  one  of  the  vital  factors 
in  successful  mission-work  is  a  mission  printing-house, 
inasmuch  as  it  is  always  possible,  even  in  countries 
where  large  public  meetings  are  forbidden,  to  reach 
the  literate  masses  through  the  printed  page.  The 
American  Mission  in  Syria  was  no  sooner  established 
than  the  need  of  a  mission-press  made  itself  evident. 
Conditions  in  the  Ottoman  Empire,  however,  were 
such  that  it  seemed  inadvisable  to  attempt  anything 
in  the  line  of  publication  at  that  particular  time,  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  the  Turkish  censorship  of  printed 
matter  was  fanatically  rigorous.  In  1822  the  Congre- 
gational Mission  Board  at  Boston  determined  to  locate 
the  American  Mission-Press  for  Syria  in  Malta,  until 
such  time  as  conditions  in  the  Turkish  Empire  would 
permit  of  its  transfer  to  Asia  Minor  or  Syria.  Twelve 
years  later  the  opportunity  came ;  and  in  1834  the  Press 
was  removed  to  Beirut,  where  it  has  operated  for 
eighty-five  years  with  only  one  interruption.  This 
was  during  the  war  between  Turkey  and  Russia  in 
1853-56,  when  the  American  missionaries  fled  for  a 
few  months  to  Cyprus  for  safety,  at  which  time  the 
translation  and  editorial  work  of  the  Press  was  like- 
wise carried  on  there. 

The  greatest  modern  literary  contribution  to  the 
Arabic-speaking  world — which  comprises  one-fifteenth 
of  the  population  of  the  globe — is  the  Arabic  version 
of  the  Bible,  translated  and  published  by  the  Beirut 
Mission-Press  half  a  century  ago.  This  has  been  re- 
peatedly revised  and  modernized;  but  in  spite  of  the 
enormous  demand  from  all  parts  of  the  world  for  the 


100         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Scriptures  in  Arabic,  the  American  Press  is  the  only 
printing-house  in  the  world  which  produces  the  com- 
plete Arabic  Bible  in  all  forms.  In  addition  to  re- 
ligious literature  of  all  types,  the  American  Press  has 
translated  into  Arabic  and  publishes  school-books,  fic- 
tion, and  miscellaneous  works  on  scientific  subjects; 
and  many  of  its  publications  are  circulated  throughout 
the  whole  Arabic-speaking  world.  During  the  year 
1913,  the  Press  exported  to  the  United  States,  South 
America,  India,  Egypt,  Africa,  Mesopotamia,  Arabia, 
and  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  more  than  200,000  vol- 
umes of  its  productions. 

The  Press  has  never  lost  sight  of  the  fact  that  it 
must  keep  pace  with  Syria  in  its  growth  and  develop- 
ment. As  education  has  become  more  widespread 
throughout  the  country,  there  has  been  an  increasing 
demand  for  clean,  interesting  and  instructive  litera- 
ture in  Arabic  to  compete  with  the  immoral  literature 
translated  from  the  French  which  has  lately  flooded 
the  market.  Not  only  must  the  Press  increase  the 
quantity,  but  also  the  quality  of  its  output.  At  the  out- 
break of  the  European  War  plans  for  a  new  and 
modern  building  were  in  hand,  and  the  Management 
was  concentrating  all  its  energies  on  the  problems  of 
how,  and  along  what  lines,  it  might  increase  the  staff, 
both  editorial  and  administrative,  so  as  to  meet  the 
needs  and  grasp  the  opportunities  of  the  age. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  digress  here  to  sketch  briefly 
another  phase  of  the  Mission-Press  activities  which 
was  unofficial,  but  vitally  important  to  the  American 
Mission  community  in  Syria,  and  which  in  a  measure 


UNLOADING  PAPER  FOR  AMERICAN  PRESS 


SENDING  PUBLICATIONS   TO   STEAMER 


The  American  Mission  Press  iii  a  New  R61e    i^i 

explains  why  the  Press  was  called  upon,  during  the 
war,  to  play  so  large  and  so  varied  a  role.  The 
American  Mission  in  Syria  is  centered  in  four  sta- 
tions, Beirut,  Sidon,  Tripoli,  and  Zahleh  in  Lebanon, 
from  which  centers  the  work  in  the  out-stations  is 
directed.  Of  these  four  cities  Beirut  is  the  only  one 
that  occupies  a  position  of  commercial  importance. 
Sidon  and  Tripoli  are  not  large  ports  in  the  sense  that 
they  are  suited  by  their  location  for  extensive  mari- 
time operations.  Neither  has  a  harbour,  but  Beirut  can 
boast  one  of  the  few  fairly  good  harbours  on  the  coast 
of  the  eastern  Mediterranean.  Zahleh,  on  the  other 
hand,  lies  far  in  the  interior — far,  that  is,  for  Syria, 
where  ten  miles  present  greater  difficulties  in  travel 
than  one  hundred  miles  in  America  or  Europe. 
Beirut  is  the  seaport  for  Damascus,  and  consequently 
for  the  whole  interior  as  far  north  as  Aleppo.  At 
Beirut  the  ships  of  commerce  discharge  their  freight, 
and  through  the  Beirut  custom-house  eighty  per  cent, 
of  the  imports  to  Syria  pass.  Obviously,  Beirut  sta- 
tion is  the  Mission's  point  of  contact  with  the  outside 
world,  and  in  Beirut  the  Treasurer  of  the  Syria  Mis- 
sion must  be  located.  The  Manager  of  the  American 
Press  is,  therefore,  also  the  Treasurer  of  the  Mission. 
The  result  is  self-evident.  A  missionary  in  one  of 
the  other  stations  sends  to  America  or  to  England  for 
a  consignment  of  groceries.  Will  the  Manager  of  the 
Press  please,  as  a  personal  favour,  send  some  one  re- 
liable to  the  custom-house  to  clear  the  said  consign- 
ment, and  see  it  safely  dispatched  by  train  to  Zahleh, 
or  by  cart  to  Sidon  or  Tripoli?    Of  course,  the  Man* 


102  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

ager  cannot  refuse  so  reasonable  a  request,  but  in  the 
course  of  a  few  months  the  Press  is  obHged  to  develop 
a  regular  shipping-department  with  a  complete  staff 
that  devotes  practically  all  its  time  to  questions  con- 
cerned with  customs,  transport  to  the  interior,  and 
kindred  problems.  Similarly,  in  compliance  with  or- 
ders from  all  parts  of  the  country,  the  Press  keeps  a 
special  employee  to  make  purchases  in  the  Beirut  shops, 
which  are,  of  course,  superior  to  any  in  the  interior; 
another  to  be  responsible  for  the  quantities  of  mail  for 
the  out-stations  which  come  directed  to  its  care.  The 
Press,  being  located  in  the  metropolis,  has  facilities  for 
cashing  checks  and  handling  accounts  in  banks  that 
have  no  provincial  agencies.  The  Manager  of  the 
Press,  being  on  the  spot,  can  reserve  steamer-passage 
for  the  missionary  starting  home  on  furlough,  or  meet 
the  incoming  steamer  and  pilot  the  new  arrival  past  the 
greedy  customs  officials  to  hotel  quarters  previously 
engaged  by  the  Press.  In  short,  the  American  Mis- 
sion-Press is  the  Cook's  Agency,  and  the  Import,  Ex- 
port, and  Purchasing  Office  of  the  Mission,  merely  be- 
cause it  is  the  only  American  institution  in  Beirut  with 
a  staff  sufficiently  large  to  warrant  the  assumption  that 
"  there  will  surely  be  some  one  to  spare  who  can  do 
just  this  for  me." 

Not  only  the  American  Presbyterian  Mission  in 
Syria  requires  these  special  services  of  the  Press,  the 
same  is  true  of  every  mission  in  Syria  and  Palestine, 
from  the  Taurus  Mountains  to  the  Egyptian  border. 
The  mail  of  a  single  day  brings  to  the  Manager's  desk 
orders  ranging  from  a  slate-roof  for  a  new  school- 


The  American  Mission  Press  in  a  New  Role    103 

building  four  hundred  miles  to  the  north  of  Beirut,  to 
a  horse  and  buggy  for  a  missionary  on  the  edge  of 
Hauran,  or  a  tombstone  for  a  grave  in  Damascus. 

With  this  established  precedent,  it  was  no  abrupt  de- 
parture for  the  Press  gradually  to  assume  more  and 
more  obligations  of  a  financial  and  commercial  char- 
acter; until  with  the  war's  continued  embargo  on 
trade,  and  the  impossibility  of  securing  necessary 
printing-supplies,  the  publication  side  of  the  Press's 
activities  diminished  in  proportion  as  the  financial  side 
increased.  The  paralysis  of  the  business  world  and 
the  suspension  of  normal  trade  activities  has  already 
been  discussed  in  a  previous  chapter.  Banks  were 
closed  and  all  communication  with  the  outside  world 
ceased,  save  through  the  Ottoman  Post  Office  and 
under  the  eye  of  the  Turkish  censor.  The  Press,  how- 
ever, arranged  an  "  underground  "  mail-route,  the  only 
channel  which  permitted  of  freely-expressed  corre- 
spondence with  the  outer  world.  General,  unimpor- 
tant mail  was  entrusted  to  the  local  Turkish  Post 
Office  as  a  blind,  for  its  total  absence  would  immedi- 
ately have  aroused  suspicion.  This  "  underground  " 
mail-service  was  available  for  only  a  few  months ;  but 
brief  though  the  period  was  in  which  the  Press  could 
communicate  freely  with  its  home-board,  the  Presby- 
terian Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  New  York  City, 
it  was  sufficient  to  establish  in  America  a  firm  under- 
standing of  the  situation  in  Syria  and  of  the  needs. 
In  the  light  of  this  understanding  subsequent  corre- 
spondence passing  through  the  Turkish  Post  Office 
might  be  so  cryptic  as  to  be  unintelligible  to  the  censor 


104  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

and  yet  be  perfectly  comprehensible  to  the  corre- 
spondents. Through  the  medium  of  the  "under- 
ground "  a  numbered  letter  was  forwarded  by  the 
Manager  of  the  Press  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  Board 
requesting  the  latter  to  deposit  the  sum  of  One  Thou- 
sand Pounds  with  a  certain  bank  in  Switzerland  to  the 
credit  of  the  account  of  the  American  Press.  Six 
months  later,  the  Turkish  censor  would  not  find  any- 
thing startling  in  a  cable  phrased  as  follows :  **  Repeat 
transaction  my  number  eleven,  two  instead  of  one  " ; 
and  yet  it  would  have  a  very  definite  message  for  the 
Treasurer  in  New  York,  meaning  this  time  that  he  was 
to  deposit  with  the  Swiss  Bank  Two  Thousand  Pounds 
for  the  Press  account. 

In  December,  1914,  Mr.  Dana,  the  Manager  of  the 
Press,  cabled  Mr.  Dwight  H.  Day,  his  New  York 
Treasurer,  to  accept  for  transmission  to  Beirut  any 
sums  of  money  which  Syrians  in  America  might  wish 
to  send  to  their  relatives  in  Syria.  Upon  receipt  of 
lists  of  amounts  deposited  in  New  York,  together  with 
the  names  of  the  sender  and  the  payee,  the  Press  guar- 
anteed to  make  payment  in  any  part  of  Syria.  This 
step  was  taken  by  Mr.  Dana  purely  as  a  relief-measure, 
and  he  little  suspected  the  proportions  to  which  it 
would  very  shortly  develop.  In  less  than  a  year  the 
Press  had  paid  out  more  than  $2,000,000  to  approxi- 
mately 30,000  Syrians  living  anywhere  in  the  country, 
from  Gaza,  near  the  Egyptian  border,  to  Bagdad  in 
Mesopotamia.  The  difficulty  of  locating  and  identi- 
fying the  thousands  of  payees  living  in  isolated  vil- 
lages scattered  throughout  this  vast  region  was  indeed 


The  American  Mission  Press  in  a  New  R61e    105 

tremendous,  but  it  was  accomplished  with  a  very  slight 
increase  in  the  staff  of  workers,  and  without  the  loss 
of  a  dollar  through  mishap  or  mispayment. 

During  the  summer  of  1915  this  relief-work  on  the 
part  of  the  Press  and  Mission  had  become  so  exten- 
sive, and  such  a  large  proportion  of  the  population 
depended  upon  financial  assistance  from  the  Amer- 
icans, that  the  Turkish  authorities  began  to  display 
open  hostility  toward  the  work.  Our  chief  enemies 
among  the  Turkish  officials  were  Azmi  Bey,  Governor 
of  Beirut,  and  Muhhedin  Bey,  Chief  of  Police,  both 
of  whom  were  notorious  assassins,  and  both  of  whom 
were  agents  of  the  Triumvirate  in  Constantinople  in 
their  scheme  for  the  deliberate  extermination  of  the 
Syrian  people.  These  men  recognized  in  the  work  of 
Mr.  Dana,  as  Manager  of  the  Press,  and  his  resultant 
contact  with  the  Syrians  an  important  obstacle  to  their 
plan  of  exterminating  this  subject  race  as  effectively, 
but  not  so  conspicuously  as  they  had  exterminated  the 
Armenians.  Furthermore,  he  was  handling  immense 
sums  of  money,  portions  of  which  they  believed  they 
might  divert  into  their  own  pockets,  if  only  they  could 
sufficiently  intimidate  him  or  threaten  the  suspension 
of  his  work.  In  other  words,  they  were  determined 
that  his  work  should  continue  only  if  it  were  suf- 
ficiently remunerative  to  them. 

In  the  accomplishment  of  their  purpose,  there  was 
nothing  to  which  these  two  men  would  not  stoop ;  and 
when  overt  methods  failed,  they  resorted  to  blackmail 
and  intimidation.  Their  first  attempt  was  to  cut  off 
the  Press  from  its  mail,  in  the  hope  that,  if  they  could 


lo6  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

prevent  the  arrival  of  the  weekly  packets  of  instruc- 
tions from  New  York,  the  "  remittances  to  Syrians,'* 
as  we  at  the  Press  designated  them,  might  be  termi- 
nated. The  next  line  of  attack  was  to  accuse  the 
Press  of  making  payments  to  the  Syrians  in  behalf  of 
the  British  and  French  Governments  with  a  view  to 
purchasing  the  promise  of  Ottoman  subjects  to  join  the 
enemy  at  any  moment  when  Entente  intervention 
might  appear  imminent.  Another  charge  was  sug- 
gested by  the  jealousy  of  the  local  banks,  namely,  that 
the  Press  interfered  with  the  business  of  legalized 
banking  institutions,  which,  it  was  said,  had  been 
forced  to  suspend  operations  because  they  could  not 
compete  with  charitable  organizations.  Finally,  the 
Manager  was  personally  accused  of  manipulating  the 
Turkish  paper-currency  in  such  a  way  as  to  cause  its 
depreciation  to  only  one-fourth  of  the  gold  value.  All 
of  these  charges  were,  of  course,  absolutely  false. 
The  Press  had  always  played  fair  with  the  Govern- 
ment and  had  never  transgressed  any  of  the  laws  of 
the  Empire.  In  particular,  the  last  mentioned  charge 
was  not  only  unjustified,  but  positively  contrary  to 
fact.  The  Press  was  in  reality  the  greatest  agency  in 
Syria  for  upholding  and  stabilizing  the  value  of  the 
Turkish  banknotes ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  finan- 
cial prestige  of  this  one  institution,  paper-currency 
throughout  the  country  would  practically  have  gone 
out  of  circulation,  as  it  did  in  all  isolated  localities  in 
the  interior  not  afYected  by  our  financial  transactions. 
During  the  last  three  years  of  the  war,  Mr.  Dana's 
life  was  one  of  constant  annoyance  and  danger.     The 


The  American  Mission  Press  in  a  New  Role    107 

infamous  Azmi  and  Muhhedin  combined  forces  to  in- 
timidate him  by  false  accusations,  threats,  and  secret 
intrigue.  Day  and  night  he  was  dogged  by  spies  who 
watched  his  every  move  with  greedy  eyes  in  the  hope 
that  some  indiscretion  on  his  part  might  deliver  him 
into  their  hands.  Scarcely  a  week  passed  that  he  did 
not  receive,  either  in  a  personal  interview,  or  by  an 
anonymous  letter,  some  threat  or  warning  of  black- 
mail. The  arrival  of  midnight  telegrams  was  so  fre- 
quent an  occurrence  as  to  cause  no  alarm  in  the  Dana 
household,  but  time  and  again  we  were  roused  in  the 
dead  of  night  by  a  terrific  pounding  on  the  door  which 
proved  to  be  no  telegraph-boy  but  some  of  the  most 
dastardly  agents  of  the  police.  On  several  occasions 
Mr.  Dana  was  summoned  forth  at  midnight  to  secret 
police  quarters  in  the  town  where  he  was  interro- 
gated, threatened,  and  pressed  for  money  until  he  could 
convince  his  enemies  that  neither  the  fear  of  death, 
nor  the  more  horrible  things  that  they  threatened  could 
induce  an  American  to  sell  his  honour. 

On  one  occasion  he  was  roused  from  his  sleep,  and 
conducted  by  two  non-uniformed  spies  to  a  building 
near  the  Police-Station.  Here  he  was  told  that  the 
charges  which  had  been  lodged  against  him  and  which 
were  then  under  consideration  by  the  Chief  of  Police 
were  so  grave  that  only  the  payment  of  a  large  sum  of 
money  could  save  him.  They  flatly  demanded  $10,- 
000;  and  when  given  a  positive  refusal  for  even  a 
small  amount,  one  of  the  men  left  the  place  under  pre- 
tence of  reporting  to  the  Chief  of  Police  the  failure  of 
their  negotiations.     The  second  man  proceeded  then 


lo8         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

to  enter  into  a  violent  discussion  with  another  person 
whom  Mr.  Dana  has  always  supposed  to  be  an  Ar- 
menian who  had  been  alone  in  the  dark  room  when  the 
American  and  his  two  captors  had  entered.  As  the 
conversation  was  conducted  partly  in  Armenian  and 
partly  in  Turkish  only  a  word  now  and  then  was  in- 
telligible to  Mr.  Dana,  but  it  was  evident  that  this  was 
a  similar  case  where  money  was  being  demanded. 
Finally,  when  the  threatening  rage  of  the  Turkish  spy 
could  apparently  wring  nothing  from  the  victim,  the 
Turk  seized  the  wretched  man  by  the  neck,  stabbed 
him  twice  through  the  breast,  then  cut  his  throat. 
The  murderer,  sprayed  with  the  spurting  blood,  threw 
the  knife  on  the  floor  and  turning  to  Dana  said  in 
Arabic,  "  He  has  refused  to  pay  the  money  demanded." 
The  American  was  evidently  intended  to  understand 
that  he  might  expect  a  similar  fate  if  he  too  per- 
sisted in  his  refusal. 

Later  the  assassin  disappeared  and  returned  after 
having  changed  his  clothes.  He  reported  that  the 
Chief  of  Police  wished  to  buy  a  check  on  Dana's  New 
York  bank,  and  would  give  him  the  countervalue  in 
cash  a  few  days  later.  The  check,  however,  must  be 
delivered  that  very  night.  They  apparently  wished  to 
change  slightly  the  colour  of  the  blackmail  procedure 
to  a  commercial  transaction,  but  the  Manager  of  the 
Press  knew  that  the  money  would  never  be  forth- 
coming. There  was  no  way  out  of  the  situation  save 
through  apparent  acquiescence.  He  was  taken  by  the 
spy  to  the  Press,  where  he  wrote  a  check  on  a  New 
York  bank  that  was  unnegotiable.     This,  however, 


The  American  Mission  Press  in  a  New  Role    109 

entirely  satisfied  his  Turkish  tormentors.  As  soon  as 
the  check  was  delivered  over  he  was  allowed  to  re- 
turn to  his  house,  but  he  lived  in  daily  suspense  of 
their  discovery  of  the  ruse.  He  was  slightly  relieved 
when  a  few  weeks  later  the  Chief  of  Police,  the  head 
of  the  three  conspirators,  came  to  an  untimely  end. 
Six  months  later  the  second  was  brought  low  by  a 
British  bullet  on  the  Palestinian  front.  The  third 
still  haunted  him  like  a  spectre  of  death  for  nearly  two 
years,  although  Mr.  Dana  never  knew  whether  he  had 
discovered  how  they  had  been  outwitted.  Eighteen 
months  later  he  appeared  again  in  the  dead  of  night 
on  the  wide  ledge  outside  the  window  of  Mr.  Dana's 
hotel  room.  His  appearance  was  a  great  shock,  for 
Dana  had  no  idea  that  he  was  still  dogging  him. 


The  next  morning  the  local  papers  mentioned  the 
discovery,  in  an  alley  beside  the  hotel,  of  the  corpse 
of  one  of  the  old  Hamidian  spies.  He  was  lying  on 
the  edge  of  the  pavement  with  his  skull  crushed,  and 
had  apparently  fallen  from  a  great  height.  The 
Greek  tenants  of  a  third-story  apartment  directly 
across  from  the  hotel  were  at  first  suspected,  as  it  was 
known  that  this  man  had  on  several  occasions  ascended 
to  their  rooms,  as  he  said,  "  to  make  observations." 
The  Greeks  were  subsequently  exonerated,  but  the 
police  evidently  never  discovered  how  the  man  had 
met  his  death.  The  incident  was  in  itself  a  frightful 
one,  but  the  death  of  the  one  remaining  man  who  had 
been  involved  In  the  blackmail  attempt  and  who  had 


110  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

been  outwitted  through  the  trick  of  the  bogus  check, 
closed  forever  a  fearful  chapter  of  suspense  and  terror 
in  Mr.  Dana's  life. 

In  such  a  country  as  Turkey  it  matters  little  whether 
a  charge  be  true  or  false.  It  is  not  the  innocence  or 
the  guilt  of  the  accused  that  determines  the  outcome, 
but  the  comparative  wit  of  the  contestants.  In  deal- 
ing with  barbarians  only  primitive  methods  avail,  and 
the  victory  is  to  the  keener  cunning.  In  Turkey  a  mur- 
derer with  a  sufficiently  strong  following  may  live  in 
security,  and  even  occupy  a  position  of  honour  and 
influence.  But  a  righteous  man  who  has  powerful 
enemies  is  doomed  to  destruction,  unless  he  be  con- 
stantly on  his  guard,  and  unless  also  he  be  subtle 
enough  to  keep  his  own  counsel,  and  sufficiently  wary 
to  foresee  and  forestall  his  opponents'  moves.  In  the 
case  of  the  Manager  of  the  Press,  it  was  one  man 
against  a  whole  corrupt  administration,  and  I  cannot 
believe  that  mere  human  wit  saved  the  day.  Some- 
thing more  than  tact  and  insight  was  essential  in  the 
conflict  of  honour  with  infamy,  and  civilized  principle 
with  barbaric  brutality.  Personally  I  can  only  be- 
lieve that  this  struggle  between  American  philanthropy 
and  Turkish  lust  of  destruction  was  only  another  phase 
of  the  world-conflict  of  civilization  against  barbarism, 
of  right  against  might.  It  was  with  this  faith  that  we 
fortified  ourselves  in  those  soul-racking  days.  Here 
in  Syria  we  were  fighting  our  share  in  the  World- War 
just  as  truly  as  were  our  compatriots  on  the  Western 
Front. 

Although  we  never  confessed  it  even  to  each  other, 


The  American  Mission  Press  in  a  New  R61e    ill 

I  am  certain  that  we  of  the  Dana  family  had  no  more 
expectation  that  Mr.  Dana  would  live  to  see  the  end  of 
the  war  than  we  should  have  had,  had  he  been  as- 
signed a  particularly  dangerous  post  in  France.  And 
yet  we  should  have  been  "  slackers  '*  had  we  used  our 
influence  to  induce  him  to  leave  the  country,  or  to  give 
up  the  unequal  combat.  There  were  times  when  it 
seemed  physically  impossible  that  the  human  mind 
could  bear  such  a  strain  as  was  constantly  put  upon 
him,  and  even  those  of  us  who  know  him  best  and 
who  shared  most  intimately  his  life  during  that  dread- 
ful period  cannot  fully  comprehend  what  inherent 
force  of  will,  or  superhuman  cooperation  gave  him 
strength  to  win  through  safe  and  sane. 

A  few  months  ago,  while  travelling  on  the  train 
from  Cairo  to  Port  Said,  I  met  a  British  officer  of 
twenty-one  who  wore  on  his  right  sleeve  five  chevrons, 
one  red  that  showed  he  had  volunteered  for  service 
during  the  months  of  1914.  On  his  left  sleeve  were 
two  vertical  gold  bars.  Presuming  upon  that  peculiar 
intimacy  which  sometimes  arises  during  companionship 
on  a  long  journey  at  the  end  of  which  one  knows  lies 
a  parting  of  the  ways,  I  asked  him  to  tell  me  where  he 
had  been  fighting  when  he  was  injured.  There  was 
something  strikingly  impersonal  in  the  frankness  with 
which  he  then  related  the  episode  in  France  in  which 
he  had  been  wounded.  He  had  been  struck,  and  had 
fallen  in  the  path  of  a  machine-gun  which  peppered 
him  with  bullets  as  he  lay  unconscious  on  the  ground. 
During  the  thirty-six  hours  that  he  lay  in  "  No  Man's 
Land,"  he  had  received  six  wounds,  each  of  which 


1 1 2         The  Dawn  of  a  New  £ra  in  Syria 

might  have  proved  fatal,  had  it  been  located  a  hair's 
breadth  to  one  side  or  the  other;  and  yet  not  one  vital 
organ  or  one  essential  muscle  had  been  destroyed.  He 
was  nine  months  in  the  hospital,  during  three  of  which 
he  had  neither  memory  nor  consciousness.  When  he 
finally  returned  to  his  regiment,  he  was  another  man, 
a  man  who  had  walked  into  the  very  jaws  of  death, 
and  who  looked  thenceforth  upon  every  day  of  his 
life  as  a  privilege  beyond  his  wildest  imaginings.  I 
doubt  whether  that  youth  will  ever  know  fear  again, 
or  will  ever  lose  that  sense  of  unexpected  richness  in 
the  possession  of  life.  I  asked  him  later  what  he  was 
particularly  interested  in.  "  Oh,  everything !  "  he  ex- 
claimed, as  much  as  to  say,  "  Who  would  not  be,  who 
might  be  lying  in  his  grave  in  France,  were  it  not  for 
a  miracle  ?  ** 

As  my  young  uncle,  Mr.  Dana,  listened  to  the  story 
of  that  youthful  hero,  I  saw  in  his  face  the  reflection 
of  the  other's  mood.  He  too  had  dwelt  in  daily  com- 
panionship with  death,  and  had  even  felt  its  awful 
clutch.  He  too  was  still  alive  to  work,  to  play,  to  be 
"  interested  in  everything."  And  in  the  faces  of  both 
I  read  something  else  that  I  could  not  name:  perhaps 
a  fresh  purpose  in  life,  and  the  resolution  to  make  the 
most  of  it  while  it  lasted.  Certainly  it  was  not  the 
"  eat,  drink  and  be  merry  "  attitude.  Far  from  it  I 
Rather  the  conviction  that  a  life  which  had  been  so 
miraculously  spared  had  perhaps  been  spared  with  a 
purpose,  and  was,  therefore,  in  a  measure  consecrated 
to  a  cause. 


VIII 
SYRIAN  PHILANTHROPY  FROM  ABROAD 

FOR  those  of  us  who  worked  at  the  American 
Press  during  the  period  of  the  war  there  re- 
main three  impressions  of  vivid  drama: 
tragedy,  pathos,  and  comedy.  "  Remittances  to 
Syrians  "  is  the  official  title  in  the  books  of  account  of 
the  American  Press  of  that  extensive  line  of  business 
which  provided  the  means  by  which  Syrians  living 
abroad  might  send  money  to  relatives  in  their  native 
land.  The  accounts  and  records  of  the  Press  reveal 
such  bare  facts  in  connection  with  this  relief-work  as 
have  already  been  enumerated  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter: statements  of  the  amounts  received,  by  whom  they 
were  sent,  and  to  whom  they  were  to  be  paid.  It 
would,  however,  have  been  impossible  to  devise  a  sys- 
tem by  which  one  could  become  more  intimately  and 
more  extensively  acquainted  with  the  life  of  a  nation 
than  by  this. 

The  system  in  itself  was  beautifully  simple,  but  its 
success  was  due  entirely  to  the  loyal  cooperation  of 
numerous  agents,  notably  the  Treasurers  of  the  Syrian 
Mission-stations  in  Lebanon,  Tripoli  and  Sidon.  The 
Press  is  under  no  less  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  other  as- 
sistants, not  of  the  Mission,  but  one  with  the  Mission 

113 


1 14  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

in  their  whole-hearted  enthusiasm  and  cooperation 
with  such  work  as  the  Mission  was  attempting,  through 
the  Press,  for  reHef  in  Syria.  It  would  hardly  be  fair 
to  mention  one  or  two  without  naming  all,  and  it  must 
suffice  here  to  state  that  these  agents  were  located 
throughout  the  whole  country:  in  Jerusalem,  Safed, 
Damascus  and  Aleppo  in  the  interior;  in  Jaffa,  Haifa, 
Latakia,  Mersina  and  Alexandretta  on  the  seaboard; 
and  in  numerous  towns  in  the  interior  of  Anatolia  and 
even  Mesopotamia.  Every  one  offered  his  services 
free  of  charge,  as  his  contribution  to  the  relief-work. 
The  regular  staff  of  the  Press  in  Beirut,  whose  work 
had  been  considerably  lightened  through  the  decrease 
in  the  activities  of  the  printing-department,  was  trans- 
ferred almost  bodily  to  this  new  department,  thereby 
reducing  to  a  minimum  all  expenses  in  connection  with 
administration. 

Early  in  January,  1915,  an  advertisement  was  in- 
serted in  all  the  Arabic  and  many  of  the  English  news- 
papers in  the  United  States  announcing  that  the  Treas- 
urer of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
would  accept  for  transmission  any  sums  of  money 
which  Syrians  resident  in  America  wished  to  send  to 
their  relatives  in  Syria.  This  notice  was  copied  by 
Arabic  newspapers  all  over  the  world  with  the  result 
that  In  a  few  months  money  was  pouring  in  from  all 
quarters  of  the  globe  to  the  Board's  office  in  New 
York.  It  was  soon  necessary  to  employ  a  special  staff 
to  handle  the  work  at  the  New  York  end.  The  money 
was  received  either  in  the  form  of  postal  orders,  or 
checks  which  had  to  be  negotiated  through  regular 


Syrian  Philanthropy  From  Abroad         115 

banking  channels,  or  wads  of  American  greenbacks 
paid  in  over  the  desk  of  the  receiving  cashier.  Re- 
ceipts were  issued  to  the  depositors,  and  notification 
slips  bearing  the  name  and  the  address  of  the  payer 
and  payee  in  Arabic  and  English  were  prepared  at  the 
same  time  in  New  York.  These  slips  were  later  given 
to  the  stenographers,  who  made  up  lists  reading  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  Inclosed  find  check  for  $1,525.60  to  cover  the  fol- 
lowing remittances: 

$50  from  Yusef  Touma,  116  Broad  Street,  Canton, 
Ohio,  to  his  mother,  Sobat,  in  Deir  el  Kamr, 
Lebanon, 

$40  from  Hanna  Haddad,  Washington  Street,  New 
York  City,  to  his  brother,  Khalil  Haddad,  a 
shopkeeper  on  the  Beirut  River  Road,  Beirut, 

and  so  on  through  a  list  of  fifty  to  one  hundred  items, 
some  of  them  far  less  explicit  in  their  instructions. 
These  lists  were  dispatched  weekly  to  the  Treasurer 
of  the  Syria  Mission  in  Beirut,  who  gave  them  first  his 
careful  personal  attention,  and  then  turned  them  over 
to  his  secretaries,  who  "  routed "  them,  that  is, 
separated  the  items  and  relisted  them  according  to  the 
districts  in  which  they  should  be  paid.  In  such  a  list 
as  that  quoted  above  of,  say,  one  hundred  items,  forty- 
one  might  be  paid  from  the  Beirut  office,  nine  in  Leb- 
anon Station,  twenty-one  in  Tripoli,  seven  in  Sidon, 
and  the  remaining  twenty-two  scattering  payments  in 
Jerusalem,  Nazareth,  Haifa,  Aleppo,  Antioch  and 
Mardin.    To  each  disbursing  center  was  dispatched 


Il6         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

the  list  of  payees  living  in  that  locality,  the  money 
with  which  to  make  the  payments,  and  in  some  cases 
typewritten  receipts  all  ready  for  the  payee's  signature. 
At  stated  intervals,  the  signed  receipts  were  turned 
back  to  Beirut,  where  they  were  classified  and  filed  ac- 
cording to  districts  and  villages. 

As  I  said,  the  system  was  simple,  in  fact  could 
hardly  have  been  simpler,  but  there  were  countless 
difficulties  involved  in  successfully  carrying  it  out. 
The  greatest  problem,  apart  from  the  never-ceasing 
hostility  of  the  Government,  lay  in  securing  the  money 
with  which  to  meet  these  orders  for  disbursement.  It 
was  out  of  the  question,  for  several  reasons,  to  con- 
sider transferring  funds  from  New  York  to  Beirut,  as 
rates  of  exchange  were  prohibitive,  and  banking-busi- 
ness was  at  a  standstill.  After  moderately  successful 
attempts  in  various  directions,  Mr.  Dana  finally  dis- 
covered that  the  most  satisfactory  method  was  for  him 
to  sell  checks  on  his  New  York  bankers  in  exchange 
for  Turkish  paper-currency.  During  the  three  years 
when  this  method  was  in  practice,  the  average  rate 
was  about  $3  to  the  Turkish  Lira  instead  of  the  par 
rate  of  $4.40.  This  slight  gain  on  exchange  enabled 
the  Press  to  meet  expenses  of  administration  in  con- 
nection with  the  Syrian  remittances,  and  still  disburse 
at  a  trifle  above  par,  a  gain  which  was  of  but  slight 
value  to  the  recipient,  but  which  gave  the  lie  to  subse- 
quent accusations  that  the  Press  was  growing  rich  by 
unlawful  profit  on  exchange. 

For  example,  the  dollar  at  par  was  worth  twenty-two 
and  one-half  Turkish  gold  piasters.    At  times  when 


Syrian  Philanthropy  From  Abroad         1 1 7 

exchange  rates  were  particularly  favourable  the  Press 
paid  out  as  high  as  thirty-five  to  forty  paper  piasters 
for  each  dollar.  The  relative  value  of  gold  and  paper 
was  not  proportionate  to  the  exchange  values,  but, 
nevertheless,  it  is  a  matter  of  considerable  pride  to  the 
Press  that  while  amounts  transferred  through  the  local 
banks  lost  in  transit  as  much  as  eight  per  cent,  ten  per 
cent.,  and  even  twenty-five  per  cent,  and  thirty  per  cent, 
of  their  face-value,  amounts  transferred  through  the 
Press  gained  a  maximum  of  sixty  per  cent. 

I  have  gone  thus  completely  into  what  is  a  purely 
technical  question  for  the  reason  that  the  Press  has 
been  subjected  to  a  vast  amount  of  unjust  criticism 
from  Syrians  abroad  who  have  been  advised  by  their 
relatives  and  friends  out  here  that  sums  sent  through 
the  Press  have  suffered  enormous  depreciation.  This  is 
true  only  in  so  far  as  Turkish  paper  had  depreciated  in 
relation  to  gold.  One  hundred  dollars  deposited  in  New 
York  would,  at  par,have  been  worth  £tq.*  22.60,  but  was 
paid  in  paper  by  the  Press,  when  rates  were  favour- 
able, at  £tq.  30.  If  these  £tq.  30  were  exchanged  into 
gold  only  £tq.  6  could  be  purchased,  the  equivalent  of 
$36.40.  It  is  evident  that  the  $100  has  lost  $Y3.60  in 
transit,  which  is  true  in  so  far  as  its  purchasing  value 
was  concerned.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  payee  gained 
over  the  par  rate  $33,  the  difference  between  £tq.  22.60 
per  $100  and  £tq.  30  per  $100.  As  gold  was  out- 
lawed by  the  Ottoman  Government  and  was  confiscated 
wherever  it  could  be  discovered,  it  could  not  be  circu- 
lated by  the  Press  without  jeopardizing  the  interests 

*  £tq,=Turkish  X,iras. 


Ii8         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

of  its  tens  of  thousands  of  beneficiaries.  The  Press, 
however,  always  gave  the  payees  the  option  of  re- 
fusing the  sum  outright,  in  which  case  it  was  returned 
to  the  sender  without  any  charge  for  transfer;  or  of 
delaying  receipt  on  the  chance  that  rates  might  take  a 
more  favourable  turn.  Because,  as  I  said,  there  has 
been  a  great  deal  of  unintelligent  criticism  of  the 
Press's  methods  in  financial  matters,  I  have  risked 
boring  the  average  reader  for  the  sake  of  enlightening 
those  who  are  interested  in  this  phase  of  the  question 
from  the  angle  of  the  business  man. 

The  whole  work,  however,  has  not  been  one  of  busi- 
ness, dull  and  prosaic.  It  has  presented  a  most  fasci- 
nating opportunity  for  contact  with  Syrians  of  all 
classes  and  all  walks  of  life,  both  in  their  own  country 
and  abroad.  There  was  scarcely  a  transaction  that  did 
not  have  its  humour,  its  pathos,  its  tragedy,  or  its 
dramatic  side ;  and  none  that  did  not  amply  repay  the 
effort  involved  with  the  realization  that  through  the 
hand-to-hand  exchange  of  money  there  was  the  heart- 
to-heart  exchange  of  sympathy.  Who  would  not 
labour  early  and  late,  with  infinite  anxiety,  and  even 
danger  to  his  own  personal  safety,  if  thereby  he  might 
be  the  agent  of  salvation  to  those  menaced  with  death 
by  starvation,  nakedness,  and  exposure?  Who  of  us 
has  seen  some  dull  countenance  brighten  with  new 
hope  at  the  almost  forgotten  sight  of  money,  or  felt 
on  his  hand  the  kiss  of  gratitude,  mingled  with  tears 
of  emotion,  without  thanking  God  for  the  generosity 
of  those  Syrians  overseas  who,  by  their  economy  and 
the  sacrifice  of  legitimate  and  hard-earned  comforts, 


Syrian  Philanthropy  From  Abroad         1 19 

spared  the  wherewithal  to  keep  alive  their  brothers  in 
Syria!  How  often  we  have  said  to  each  other,  "If 
only  the  man  who  sent  that  amount  could  have  seen 
the  joy  in  the  face  of  his  relative  here  when  he  re- 
ceived it ! " 

I  must  take  this  occasion  to  express  the  profound 
admiration  and  affection  for  the  middle-class  Syrian, 
more  especially  the  country-folk,  which  grew  up  in  me 
during  the  years  of  the  war,  as  a  result  of  my  contact 
with  them  through  this  Press  relief-work.  Their  fam- 
ily loyalty  and  their  willingness  to  share  with  each 
other  even  the  last  crust  is  something  so  beautifully 
touching  that  I  have  felt  humbled  before  it.  I  have 
known  a  man  of  moderate  means,  who  supported  his 
whole  hamlet  of  perhaps  fifty  persons  as  long  as  his 
own  income  held  out,  and  who  died  the  same  death 
from  starvation  as  did  the  others  when  his  funds  were 
exhausted.  There  is  a  man  in  the  village  where  we 
spend  the  summer  who  maintained  during  the  war  a 
family  of  fourteen  individuals,  some  of  whom  we 
should  term  "  distant  relatives,"  although  it  meant  that 
he  and  his  own  family  of  five  must  forego  all  the  com- 
forts, and  even  many  of  the  actual  necessities  which 
he  might  otherwise  easily  have  provided  for  them. 

After  working,  day  in,  day  out,  on  the  lists  from 
New  York,  one  comes  in  time  to  realize  that  Rosa 
Haddad  in  Fall  River,  whose  address  indicates  that  she 
is  a  day-labourer  in  a  big  shoe-factory,  is  sending  a 
monthly  remittance  of  $10  to  her  old  father  in  Leb- 
anon; and  I  have  tried  to  read  between  the  lines  of 
those  matter-of-fact  records  from  the  New  York  of- 


120        ,The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

fice  of  names,  addresses,  and  amounts,  the  sacrifices 
and  even  tragedies  that  those  Hsts  represent  Perhaps 
Rosa  drew  upon  the  little  fund  that  she  had  laid  aside 
for  her  trousseau  when  she  should  marry  Habeeb,  and 
she  bravely  determined  upon  the  postponement  of  her 
wedding,  even  before  Habeeb  received  the  letter  from 
Shweir  announcing  the  death  of  his  brother  and  the 
fact  that  their  crippled  sister,  Jameelie,  would  follow 
him  to  the  grave  unless  Habeeb  could  contribute  to- 
ward her  support. 

The  Syrians  abroad  rose  as  one  man  to  the  assist- 
ance of  their  countrymen.  The  economies  and  dreams 
of  a  lifetime,  the  hope  of  a  comfortable  old  age,  or  a 
triumphant  return  to  the  native  land  as  a  wealthy  for- 
eign resident  were  none  too  precious  to  sacrifice  in 
such  a  time  of  need  as  the  period  of  the  war.  I,  for 
one,  shall  never  see  a  rugged  mountaineer  without  re- 
membering that  he  may  be  such  a  hero  or  the  father 
of  such  heroes  as  those  I  have  just  described.  I  shall 
never  look  into  the  sad  face  of  a  young  mother,  toil- 
ing along  a  dusty  road  with  her  child  in  her  arms,  with- 
out wondering  whether  in  her  home  she  has  mothered 
other  chicks  besides  her  own.  It  matters  nothing  that 
there  have  been  men  of  the  so-called  upper  classes  of 
society  in  the  country  who  have  done  their  utmost  to 
disgrace  the  name  of  Syria  before  the  nations  of  the 
world — robbers,  usurers,  and  land-grabbers.  A  nation 
is  as  good  as  the  best  of  its  people;  and  the  country 
that  can  produce  the  every-day  heroes  and  heroines  that 
the  war  has  developed  in  Syria  is  worthy  of  honour  at 
home  and  abroad.    Many  a  demoralized  city-dweller 


Syrian  Philanthropy  From  Abroad         121 

haa  lived  a  life  consistent  with  the  standards  of  the 
decadent  society  of  the  later  Roman  Empire,  or  of 
France  during  the  Reign  of  Terror.  But  as  long  as 
there  lives  in  Lebanon  a  race  of  sturdy  mountaineers 
with  the  sturdy  virtues  of  a  mountain  people,  Syria 
will  and  must  develop  into  a  strong  nation. 

One  phrase  has  been  constantly  on  American  lips 
when  Syrians  have  attempted  to  express  their  heart- 
felt gratitude  for  their  preservation.  "  You  must  not 
thank  us.  You  must  thank  your  own  people,  in 
America,  in  England,  in  Egypt  It  is  they  who  have 
sent  the  money  that  saved  your  lives.  We  Americans 
have  been  only  the  agents  to  see  that  it  reached  you." 
It  is,  however,  heart-warming  and  to  the  missionaries 
must  seem  the  culmination  of  a  century's  labour,  that 
relations  between  the  Americans  and  the  Syrians  have 
during  the  war  become  so  cordial.  We  have  never 
done  all  the  things  with  which  they  credit  us,  but  per- 
haps it  is  inevitable  that  there  should  be  a  strong  bond 
between  those  who  have  together  experienced  such 
hardships  as  did  all  who  continued  in  Turkey  through- 
out the  whole  period  of  the  war.  The  facts  that  the 
Americans,  no  less  than  the  Syrians,  were  at  the  mercy 
of  the  Turks,  that  they  too  knew  anxiety  as  to  where 
they  should  obtain  the  winter's  wheat-supply,  that  they 
denied  themselves  all  possible  luxuries,  that  they  ate 
the  Syrian  dishes,  and  wore  clothes  made  of  native 
fabrics— in  short,  that  they  lived  just  as  the  Syrians 
lived — these  facts  perhaps  place  them  in  a  peculiarly 
intimate  relationship  with  the  Syrian  people.  Every 
American  who  remained  in  Turkey  after  the  departure 


122  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

of  the  official  representatives  in  April,  1917,  did  so 
with  the  knowledge  that  he  remained  at  his  own  risk. 
Disease,  starvation,  and  complete  isolation  from  his 
home  and  friends  in  America  were  actualities  at  the 
time  when  he  made  the  decision,  and  there  were  yet 
more  dreadful  possibilities  ahead  whose  full  horror 
only  the  Turks  could  realize. 

I  dare  write  thus  frankly  of  the  heroism  of  the 
Americans  with  whom  I  was  associated  because  of  my 
own  peculiarly  sheltered  position.  In  one  sense,  I  was 
almost  a  bystander,  and  the  sorrows  that  darkened 
those  dreadful  years  were  for  me  purely  vicarious.  I 
never  knew  any  personal  uneasiness,  for  I  was  in  no 
way  in  the  public  eye,  but  I  was  saddened  with  anxiety 
for  the  safety  of  my  uncle  and  his  family.  I  was 
young,  and  had  none  dependent  on  me.  I  was  free 
to  go  or  to  come  without  concern  as  to  how  my  move- 
ments would  affect  those  whom  I  loved.  I  had  only 
an  indirect  share  in  the  work  that  the  Americans  were 
doing  in  the  country;  and  therefore,  I  may  be  par- 
doned, if  what  I  say  of  my  countrymen  expresses  my 
pride  in  them,  and  I  may  at  least  be  exonerated  from 
the  suspicion  of  personal  vanity  or  self-satisfaction. 

All  over  the  world  men  and  women  have  eased  their 
breaking  hearts  with  the  hope  that  "  somehow  good 
will  be  the  final  goal  of  ill,"  and  in  Syria  to-day  we 
are  fortunate  in  that  we  can  already  see  some  of  the 
beneficial  results  of  the  ills  which  we  have  survived. 
We  should  have  sufficient  cause  for  gratitude  were  our 
only  gain  Syria's  liberation  from  the  oppression  of  thf*. 
Turk,  but  there  are  improvements  of  a  more  subtle 


Syrian  Philanthropy  From  Abroad         123 

character  which  are  evident,  probably,  only  to  one  who 
knew  the  country  before  the  war  as  well  as  after. 
From  the  missionary  standpoint,  the  greatest  step  to- 
ward progress  has  been  the  tendency  to  merge  sectarian 
enmities  in  a  rapidly  growing  national  loyalty.  There 
is,  furthermore,  a  gratitude  to  America  which  has 
been  expressed  at  times  in  a  most  astonishing  way. 

For  generations  the  French  Catholics  have  been  ex- 
ceedingly jealous  of  American  religious  influence  in 
the  land,  and  they  have  instilled  into  their  converts 
much  of  their  intolerance  and  bigotry.  The  fact,  how- 
ever, that  the  American  relief -agencies  made  no  dis- 
tinctions of  race  or  creed  in  their  service  to  the  Syrian 
people  disarmed  hostility  in  a  most  surprising  way. 
The  Americans  were  fully  aware  of  the  bitter  enmity 
of  the  Catholics  (locally  known  as  Maronites),  espe- 
cially in  that  Kesrawan  region  of  Lebanon,  north  of 
Beirut.  That  knowledge,  however,  was  no  deterrent 
when  it  came  to  the  possibility  of  rendering  relief  to 
the  Maronite  inhabitants  of  this  district,  which  suffered 
particularly  from  the  effects  of  the  war. 

While  writing  this  I  chanced  to  turn  over  the  figures 
showing  the  totals  of  the  various  sects  helped  by 
America's  charities  during  the  last  two  years  of  the 
war.  Out  of  46,000  Christians  who  received  relief, 
fifty- four  per  cent,  were  Roman  Catholics  and  Maron- 
ites, and  only  one  and  one- fourth  per  cent,  were  Protes- 
tants. More  than  that,  even  the  priests,  hostile  as  they 
had  always  been  toward  the  American  missions,  were 
glad  to  avail  themselves  of  the  privileges  of  receiv- 
ing money  through  the  Press,  and  of  banking  there. 


124         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

The  Press  stood  ready  to  deliver  money  to  any  indi- 
vidual lucky  enough  to  have  relatives  abroad  desirous 
of  thus  assisting  him,  and  never  inquired  whether  he 
were  priest  or  layman,  Mohammedan,  Druze,  Greek 
Orthodox,  Protestant,  or  Maronite.  Some  of  our 
most  satisfactory  dealings  were  with  the  Maronites; 
and  if  some  of  our  greatest  annoyances  were  caused 
by  the  priests,  that  was  no  more  true  of  the  Cath- 
olics than  of  the  priests  of  other  sects.  The  Syrians 
have  a  saying  that,  if  you  wish  to  find  the  Devil,  you 
have  only  to  lift  the  cap  of  a  priest;  and  there  were 
times  when  we  were  tempted  to  believe  the  truth  of 
that  malicious  proverb.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  most  of 
the  flagrant  cases  of  dishonesty  and  falsehood  must  be 
laid  at  the  door  of  the  clergy;  and  one  or  two  typical 
incidents  will  reveal  what  we  had  to  contend  with. 

Mr.  Nejib  Kheirallah,  the  paying  cashier  at  the 
Press,  fortunately  for  the  Press,  was  a  young  man  of 
rare  shrewdness,  otherwise  our  proud  record  of  no 
losses  through  mispayments  could  never  have  been  at- 
tained. On  one  occasion  a  priest  entered  the  office  and 
presented  one  of  our  regulation  notices  which  re- 
quested Mikhail  Gabriel  to  call  at  the  American  Press 
on  important  business.  Such  notices  bore  only  the 
name  of  the  payee  and  the  serial  number  of  the  pay- 
ment. The  name  of  the  sender  was  omitted  for  a 
special  reason.  In  Syria,  where  family  names  are  a 
comparatively  recent  achievement,  it  frequently  hap- 
pens that  there  are  two  or  more  men  of  the  same  name 
in  one  village,  just  as  it  might  happen  that  there  would 
be  several  George  Henrys  in  Paterson,  New  Jersey. 


Syrian  Philanthropy  From  Abroad         125 

It  would,  however,  be  a  rare  coincidence  if  two  of 
these  Syrian  George  Henrys  had  relatives  of  the  same 
name  residing  in  the  same  place  in  America.  The 
prospective  payee,  therefore,  is  required  to  give  the 
names  of  relatives  or  friends  residing  abroad  from 
whom  he  might  possibly  receive  an  amount  of  money; 
and  if  among  those  names  should  occur  the  name  of 
the  actual  sender,  the  identification  is  practically  com- 
plete. Of  course,  further  safeguards  in  the  way  of 
written  guarantees  from  the  sheikh,  or  mayor,  of  the 
village  in  which  the  candidate  lives,  reliable  witnesses 
to  the  signature,  etc.,  are  required. 

This  priest  presented  the  notification  slip,  and  an- 
nounced that  he  was  Mikhail  Gabriel,  and  that  he  had 
come  to  get  his  money.  There  was  something  odd  in 
his  manner,  and  Nejib  Kheirallah  looked  searchingly 
into  his  crafty  face.  However,  as  his  answers  to  the 
usual  questions  tallied  with  the  information  forwarded 
from  New  York,  and  as  his  credentials  from  the  sheikh 
and  other  dignitaries  of  his  village  were  in  perfect 
order,  there  was  no  reason  for  withholding  the  pay- 
ment. Like  a  hawk,  however,  the  cashier  scrutinized 
his  every  move,  and  the  moment  that  the  priest  set  pen 
to  paper  to  affix  his  signature  to  the  receipt  a  slight 
tremor  betrayed  some  unusual  excitement.  In  a  flash 
the  cashier  had  him  by  the  throat,  and,  worrying  him 
as  a  dog  worries  a  rat,  accused  him  of  forgery.  The 
man  turned  ashen  white  and  fainted  from  terror. 
When  he  came  to,  he  confessed  his  guilt  and  pled  for 
leniency.  Mikhail  Gabriel  had  died  only  the  week 
before,  and  the  priest  had  intercepted  the  Press  notice 


126  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

with  the  intention  of  securing  the  money  for  himself. 
Had  he  been  the  only  individual  involved,  his  prayer 
for  mercy  might  have  been  granted,  but  the  matter  was 
too  serious  to  be  lightly  dismissed.  In  his  hands  Mr. 
Kheirallah  held  the  written  evidence  of  the  perjury  of 
the  sheikh  of  the  village,  and  the  other  "  reputable  citi- 
zens "  who  had  borne  false  witness  to  the  man's  iden- 
tity. The  case  was  put  in  the  hands  of  lawyers,  and 
the  criminals  brought  to  justice.  Investigation  re- 
vealed forty  inhabitants  of  that  village  whom  the  priest 
had  unsuccessfully  approached  in  his  attempt  to  secure 
by  bribery  the  necessary  guarantees. 

A  delightful  contrast  to  such  an  incident  was  the 
visit  which  the  Manager  received  from  other  priestly 
representatives  from  a  distant  monastery  high  up  in 
the  Lebanon  Mountains.  A  delegation  called  upon 
him  to  express  their  gratitude  for  the  assistance  ren- 
dered through  the  medium  of  the  Americans,  and  to 
discuss  the  possibility  of  their  recording  their  appre- 
ciation in  some  more  substantial  form.  They  had  de- 
termined to  present  President  Wilson  with  a  desk 
made  of  the  fragrant  cedar-wood,  requesting  him  to 
accept  it  in  recognition  of  the  gratitude  of  the  Syrian 
Catholics  for  the  generosity  of  the  American  public. 
It  was  a  beautiful  idea,  and  the  Manager  assured  them 
that  President  Wilson  would  undoubtedly  treasure 
such  a  gift;  but  at  that  time  it  was  impossible  to  think 
of  sending  to  America  anything  so  bulky  as  a  cedar- 
wood  desk.  The  priests  were  disappointed,  but  prom- 
ised to  reopen  the  question  after  the  war.  It  may  be 
that  some  day  they  will ;  if  so,  I  trust  that  the  President 


Syrian  Philanthropy  From  Abroad         127 

of  the  United  States  will  value  the  token  as  one  that 
is  truly  significant  of  a  change  of  heart  on  the  part  of 
at  least  certain  representatives  of  a  class  that  five  years 
ago  was  the  most  bitter  enemy  of  the  American  Mis- 
sion. 

One  would  have  to  write  a  book  of  several  hundred 
pages  to  do  justice  to  the  human  side  of  this  relief- 
work.  A  thousand  and  one  nights  would  not  exhaust 
the  treasury  of  stories  of  incidents  that  have  made  us 
laugh  and  weep.  You  would  have  forgotten  for  a 
moment  even  the  most  pressing  care,  if  you  could  have 
heard  Mr.  Dana  laugh,  when,  in  reading  over  the  lists 
of  instructions  from  New  York,  he  came  to  an  item 
of  $100,  "  to  be  delivered  with  a  thousand  kisses  to 
my  sister  in  Jerusalem " !  Your  heart  would  have 
been  lightened  of  a  load  of  sympathetic  anxiety  when 
you  discovered  on  another  list  a  substantial  sum  for 
the  poor  woman  who  had  waylaid  Mr.  Dana  a  week 
before  as  he  passed  through  a  remote  mountain-village, 
and  who  had  poured  into  his  ears  her  pitiful  story. 
Her  daughter  lay  ill  of  typhus,  and  she  had  no  money 
for  medicines  or  proper  food.  She  had  only  sufficient 
flour  for  one  more  baking.  Was  it  an  answer  to 
prayer  that  her  son  in  America,  from  whom  she  had 
heard  nothing  for  ten  years,  was  suddenly  inspired  to 
send  her  a  sum  of  money? 

But  the  tragedy  of  the  sums  that  came  too  late! 
One  day  a  doctor  from  a  village  on  the  coast  north  of 
Beirut  came  into  the  office  to  receive  about  $1,400 
which  he  was  charged  to  distribute  among  the  residents 
of  his  village.     There  were  about  thirty  names  on  the 


128         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

list  forwarded  to  him  by  the  senders.  He  wept  as  he 
read  it  over,  and  he  told  us  that  only  five  of  that  thirty 
were  still  alive. 

On  other  occasions  money  came  as  a  perfect  God- 
send, and  relieved  an  otherwise  desperate  situation. 
Mr.  Assad  Kheirallah,  the  Syrian  guide,  philosopher, 
friend,  and  secretary  of  the  Press,  was  making  a  tour 
through  the  Kesrawan  region  of  Lebanon.  It  was 
winter,  and  he  had  besought  the  Manager  to  allow  him 
to  make  the  journey  to  some  of  the  more  isolated  vil- 
lages to  deliver  the  money,  rather  than  require  the  poor 
people  to  take  the  long  journey  to  Beirut  to  obtain  it. 
Darkness  had  overtaken  him  at  a  wayside  inn,  and  he 
had  taken  shelter  there  for  the  night.  He  had  scarcely 
touched  the  hot  supper  that  his  host  had  prepared  for 
him  when  there  was  a  shuffling  of  feet  at  the  door  and 
two  men  entered  bearing  the  apparently  dead  body  of  a 
scantily  clad  man.  Good  Samaritans  that  they  were, 
they  had  picked  him  up  from  the  roadside  where  they 
had  found  him,  and  brought  him  to  the  inn  with  the 
hope  that  warmth  and  nourishing  food  might  save  his 
life.  He  revived  more  speedily  than  they  anticipated, 
and  when  he  was  strong  enough  to  talk  he  told  them 
that  he  had  walked  down  to  the  coast  from  one  of  the 
highest  villages  in  that  district  of  Lebanon  only  the 
day  before.  All  winter  he  had  struggled  to  keep  him- 
self and  his  family  of  four  motherless  children  alive, 
but  he  had  finally  reached  the  limit  of  his  resources. 
He  had  sold  everything  in  the  house  from  the  kitchen- 
utensils  to  the  beds  on  which  they  slept.  He  could 
borrow  nothing,  for  his  neighbours  were  as  poor  as  he 


Syrian  Philanthropy  From  Abroad         129 

was.  He  could  not  remain  in  the  house  and  watch  his 
children  starve  under  his  eyes,  so  he  had  bidden  them 
farewell,  and  departed  for  the  coast  in  search  of  assist- 
ance. He  had  little  hope  that  he  would  meet  with  suc- 
cour of  any  kind ;  and  when  he  left  them  he  had  deter- 
mined that  he  would  not  return  if  he  must  go  back 
empty-handed.  His  benefactors  heard  his  sad  story, 
but  they  themselves  were  poor,  and  had  nothing  to 
give.  Mr.  Kheirallah,  who  had  not  spoken  before, 
then  asked  the  man  his  name;  and  when  he  heard  it, 
began  asking  the  most  curious  questions.  Have  you 
any  relatives  in  America  ?  Where  do  they  live  ?  What 
are  their  names?  At  first  the  poor  man  could  recall 
no  kinsman  living  abroad,  but  finally  he  recollected  the 
fact  that  his  brother's  youngest  son  had  gone  away 
some  years  before,  and  the  last  they  had  heard  had 
been  living  in  Providence,  R.  I.  Mr.  Kheirallah  in- 
quired his  name,  and  then  consulted  his  list.  There 
was  a  sum  of  $200  for  the  man  before  him  from  this 
almost-forgotten  nephew!  The  man  could  not  be- 
lieve his  good  fortune,  but  was  finally  persuaded  that 
the  money  was  indeed  his.  He  did  not  know  how  to 
sign  his  name  on  the  receipt,  but  he  made  his  thumb- 
print over  the  stamp,  and  the  next  day  he  returned  to 
his  village  with  sufficient  supplies  and  money  to  sec 
him  and  his  family  through  the  remainder  of  the 
winter. 

Up  to  the  date  of  writing,  the  records  at  the  Ameri- 
can Press  show  more  than  a  million  individual  items 
disbursed  to  persons  of  all  classes  and  creeds  in  Syria. 
About  one-third  of  these  are  the  so-called  "  Syrian 


130  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Remittances,"  forwarded  by  the  New  York  Treasurer. 
The  remainder  represent  items  sent  through  the  Amer- 
ican Embassy,  the  Swedish  Legation,  the  Dutch  Lega- 
tion in  Constantinople,  the  American  Diplomatic 
Agency  in  Cairo,  the  American  Consulate  General  of 
Beirut,  a  Jewish  reHef-society,  and  numerous  private 
charitable  organizations.  There  is  hardly  one  of 
these  but  bears  mute  testimony  to  similar  incidents. 
The  Governor  of  Beirut  was  not  far  wrong  when  he 
recognized  in  the  work  of  the  American  Press  a  for- 
midable obstacle  to  the  Turkish  program  of  destruc- 
tion ;  nor  was  he  mistaken  when  he  feared  that  it  would 
result  in  a  sympathy  between  the  Syrians  and  the 
Americans  which  would  only  further  emphasize  the 
contrast  between  American  and  Turkish  methods  of 
procedure.  His  worst  fears  were  being  realized ;  and 
finally,  in  a  truly  Herodian  fashion,  he  determined  to 
remove  the  man  whom  he  considered  his  most  effective 
opponent.  How  he  did  so,  is  a  chapter  by  itself, 
and  will  be  dealt  with  as  such ;  but  it  was  not  until  he 
had  tried  every  other  plan  of  interference  and  oppres- 
sion that  he  finally  resorted  to  such  a  drastic  measure 
as  the  removal  of  the  director  of  the  whole  relief-work. 
In  May,  191Y,  the  Press  was  given  a  warning  hint  of 
trouble  ahead  when  Assad  Kheirallah,  the  most  power- 
ful Syrian  in  connection  with  American  Influence  in 
the  country,  was  made  the  victim  of  a  fresh  scheme  of 
Turkish  vengeance  and  injustice.  Mr.  Kheirallah,  to- 
gether with  quite  a  number  of  other  prominent  Syrian 
business-men,  was  deported  to  Adana.  The  alleged 
reason  for  this  unprecedented  move  was  the  determi- 


ASSAD  KHEIRALLAH 


Syrian  Philanthropy  From  Abroad  131 

nation  of  the  Ottoman  Government  to  deal  summarily 
with  those  who  were  said  to  be  responsible  for  the 
Syrian  lack  of  confidence  in  the  Ottoman  banknote. 
The  Turkish  paper-currency  issues  were  daily  depre- 
ciating because  of  the  evident  demoralization  of  the 
government.  Mr.  Dana's  name  had  also  been  on  this 
list  for  deportation;  but  through  the  timely  interven- 
tion of  Syrian  friends,  it  had  been  removed  just  before 
the  "  round-up  "  was  made.  The  list  also  included 
the  name  of  another  most  valuable  friend  of  the  Amer- 
ican Press,  Mr.  Joseph  D.  Farhi,  a  prominent  Jewish 
business-man  who  had  secretly  negotiated  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  dollars'  worth  of  American  Press  drafts 
in  securing  funds  for  relief  and  for  the  general 
finances  of  the  Press  and  Mission. 

Four  months  after  Mr.  Kheirallah's  departure  into 
exile,  Jemal  Pasha  was  paying  a  visit  to  the  village  in 
which  the  Kheirallah  family  lived.  Mrs.  Kheirallah 
and  her  daughter  went  to  call  upon  Him,  stating  plainly 
that  it  was  purely  a  business-visit  for  the  purpose  of 
laying  before  him  the  injustice  that  had  been  done  the 
head  of  their  house.  They  stated  emphatically  that 
they  were  asking  only  for  justice,  and  they  requested 
an  investigation.  They  said,  "If  you  find  Assad 
Kheirallah  guilty  of  anything  against  the  Government, 
we  should  be  the  first  to  urge  his  punishment.  If  you 
find  him  innocent,  we  are  sure  you  will  promptly  return 
him  to  his  home." 

Jemal  Pasha  was  overcome  with  surprise.  He  had 
been  besieged  with  requests  and  petitions,  but  never 
one  from  two  women  wlio  so  fearlessly  demanded  of 


132  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

him  justice  in  its  highest  form.  He  saw  that  they 
were  unusual  women,  educated,  refined,  and  dauntless. 
He  promised  them  on  his  word  of  honour  that  he 
would  look  into  the  matter  at  once;  and  if  facts  were 
indeed  as  they  represented  them,  would  act  promptly. 
Within  a  few  weeks  Mr.  Kheirallah  was  home,  and 
was  never  again  molested  by  the  Government. 

During  the  whole  period  of  the  war  practically  all  of 
the  difficult,  and  even  dangerous  questions  between  the 
American  Mission  and  the  Turkish  Government  were 
handled  skillfully  and  successfully  by  Mr.  Kheirallah. 
The  whole  American  community  is  convinced  that 
there  is  no  one  like  him  in  all  Syria,  and  it  would  be 
impossible  to  express  in  words  the  gratitude  due  one 
who  has  endeared  himself  to  all  his  countrymen,  what- 
ever their  creed  or  political  persuasion. 


K 

CJNJUST  STEWARDS  — PERSONALITIES  IN 

REGARD  TO  CERTAIN  TURKISH 

OFFICIALS  IN  SYRIA 

AN  account  of  life  in  Turkey  during  the  Great 
War  which  did  not  include  more  than  a  pass- 
ing reference  to  certain  prominent  Turkish 
officials  would  be  like  the  proverbial  production  of 
Hamlet  with  Hamlet  left  out;  or  more  properly  speak- 
ing, a  melodrama  without  a  villain.  Around  such  fig- 
ures as  Enver  Pasha  and  Talaat  Pasha  in  Constanti- 
nople, Jcmal  Pasha,  Azmi,  Muhhedin,  Tahsin,  and 
Bedri,  Beys  in  Syria,  the  whole  action  during  this 
period  is  pivoted ;  and  without  them  one  could  no  more 
make  a  reader  understand  why  life  in  Syria  was  what 
it  was  than  one  could  relate  the  life  of  Christ  without 
m.ention  of  Herod  and  Pilate,  or  describe  Rome  of  66 
A.  D.  without  an  expose  of  the  character  of  Nero.  In- 
deed, I  can  only  designate  such  personalities  as  Jemal 
Pasha  and  Azmi  Bey  as  anachronisms.  Personally  I 
could  not  be  in  the  presence  of  either  of  them  for  a 
minute  without  being  almost  terrified  with  the  realiza- 
tion that  here  was  a  man  that  did  not  belong  to  this 
generation,  or  to  this  stage  of  the  world's  civilization. 

133 


134         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Behind  the  dapper  exterior  of  the  Europeanized  Turk, 
modern  to  the  last  mode  in  dress  and  social  manner, 
smouldered  the  barbaric  brutality  of  bygone  centuries. 
If  ever  there  was  an  argument  for  the  re-incarnation 
of  human  personalities,  that  argument  is  Jemal  Pasha 
or  Azmi  Bey.  It  is  easier  to  believe  that  the  uneasy 
spirit  of  a  Herod  or  a  Nero  has  been  reembodied  in 
one  of  these  modern  Turks  than  it  is  to  consider  them 
the  product  of  the  present  era.  It  seems  incredible  that 
the  twentieth  century  could  produce  such  types,  and 
still  more  incredible  that  even  in  Turkey  they  should 
be  rulers  with  unlimited  powers,  rather  than  criminal 
outcasts. 

Constantinople  has  never  been  veiled  from  interna- 
tional gaze  as  has  Syria,  and  the  careers  and  personali- 
ties of  such  men  as  Enver  and  Talaat  have  been  fa- 
miliar to  the  world  at  large  ever  since  the  birth  of  the 
Young  Turk  party  in  1908.  Moreover,  they  have 
been  so  ably  depicted  in  Ambassador  Morgcnihau's 
Story  that  it  is  hardly  necessary  here  to  do  more  than 
touch  on  them  in  their  relation  to  Syria.  Talaat  Pasha 
never  figured  directly  in  Syrian  affairs,  yet  it  is  a 
known  fact  that  the  same  fiendish  cruelty  which  origi- 
nated the  idea  of  the  Armenian  massacres  was  also 
responsible  for  the  attempted  extermination  of  the 
Syrian  race.  He  was  the  leading  spirit  in  the  Tri- 
umvirate at  Constantinople,  and  admittedly  the  power 
behind  the  throne.  The  unexpected  advertisement  of 
the  Armenian  atrocities,  however,  taught  the  wily 
Talaat  a  lesson,  and  in  the  direction  of  affairs  in  Syria 
he  took  pains  that  his  responsibility  should  be  screened 


Unjust  Stewards  135 

behind  his  tools  and  accomplices  actually  in  Syria.  He 
succeeded  to  a  certain  extent  because  one  who  knows 
the  villainous  Azmi  feels  it  unnecessary  to  search 
further  for  a  man  sufficiently  wicked  to  devise  such 
fiendish  cruelties.  Azmi  was  undoubtedly  responsible 
for  the  specific  details,  but  it  is  unquestionably  true 
that  Azmi  could  not  have  retained  his  position  one  day 
had  his  administration  not  been  harmonious  with  the 
program  drawn  up  in  Constantinople. 

Enver  Pasha,  a  young,  good-looking  man  of  the 
people,  who  had  risen  through  sheer  arrogance  and 
through  successfully  executed  assassinations,  who  had 
married  a  sultana,  and  lived  in  luxury  in  a  palace  on 
the  Bosphorus,  was  at  the  zenith  of  his  meteoric  career 
during  the  war.  In  his  capacity  of  Minister  of  War, 
he  made  three  flying  visits  to  Syria:  one  to  Aleppo  dur- 
ing the  planning  of  the  Mesopotamian  campaign,  one  to 
Damascus  to  assist  in  adjusting  a  difference  between 
Liman  von  Sanders  and  Jemal  Pasha,  and  one  to  Jeru- 
salem and  to  Beirut  in  order  to  satisfy  himself  to  what 
extent  Jemal  Pasha  was  playing  fair  with  his  Con- 
stantinople party.  There  had  been  considerable  ap- 
prehension on  this  score  at  the  Capital,  because  it  was 
known  that  if  a  good  opportunity  arose  Jemal  Pasha 
would  intrigue  with  the  Entente. 

That  last  visit  remains  very  plainly  in  our  memories 
as  the  Beirut  flour-supply  was  curtailed  for  three  days 
previous  in  order  that  on  the  day  when  Enver  arrived 
the  city  might  be  flooded  with  bread.  Bread  was  for 
the  first  time  distributed  to  the  poor  people  gathered  at 
the  municipal  soup-kitchens  just  before  Enver  arrived, 


136         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

and  the  happy  crowd  was  photographed  by  th^lrisiting 
party.  As  soon  as  Enver  left  that  quarter  the  bread 
was  snatched  away  by  the  police  from  the  starving 
people,  many  of  whom  died  from  the  shock  of  the 
disappointment,  and  was  hurried  to  another  soup- 
kitchen  where  it  was  used  in  the  same  way.  Needless 
to  say,  the  report  reached  Constantinople  that  Beirut 
was  plentifully  supplied  with  food,  and  that  the  poor 
were  being  well  cared  for  by  the  municipality;  but 
Enver  probably  laughed  up  his  sleeve  for  he  knev/  the 
real  conditions. 

It  was  during  my  year's  residence  in  Constantinople 
that  Enver  became  a  reality  to  me,  for  I  frequently 
saw  him  there.  The  fact  that  he  lived  in  constant  ter- 
ror of  assassination  only  served  to  advertise  his  pres- 
ence and  herald  his  trips  about  the  city.  On  several 
occasions  the  tram  on  which  I  was  travelling  to  the 
city  from  Arnaoutkeuy  on  the  Bosphorus  was  delayed 
for  nearly  an  hour  at  the  gate  of  Enver  Pasha's  palace. 
All  traffic  in  the  streets  was  habitually  suspended  along 
the  route  from  his  home  to  the  War  Department  in 
Stamboul,  and  secret-service  men  were  stationed  every 
quarter  of  a  mile  along  the  way.  The  Pasha  travelled 
in  a  large  closed  touring-car  which  raced  through  the 
streets  at  a  speed  that  would  rival  that  of  a  New  York 
fire-company,  and  when  the  car  was  still  blocks  away 
the  incessant  shriek  of  its  siren  could  be  heard  above 
the  din  of  the  city.  There  was  something  awesome  in 
'the  sound,  and  the  reckless  pace  at  which  the  car  was 
driven  typified  the  brute  terror  of  the  owner  who  chose 
to  risk  the  lives  of  a  cityful  of  people  rather  than  travel 


Unjust  Stewards  137 

at  a  speed  which  might  expose  him  to  an  assassin's 
bullet. 

Unlike  Talaat  and  Jemal,  and  indeed  the  majority 
of  Turks  in  public  or  private  life,  Enver  was  wholly 
inaccessible  to  a  woman.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the 
Oriental,  for  all  his  contempt  for  womankind  in  gen- 
eral, will  seldom  refuse  an  interview  to  an  individual 
woman.  The  Turk,  whether  he  be  cabinet  minister, 
provincial  governor,  or  director  of  a  commercial  con- 
cern, will  grant  a  woman  requests  which  a  man  would 
not  dare  to  utter,  especially  if  she  can  summon  to  her 
aid  a  few  melting  tears.  But  Enver  Pasha,  for  rea- 
sons only  suspected,  was  possessed  with  the  fear  that 
he  would  meet  his  death  at  the  hand  of  a  woman,  and 
not  only  was  no  woman  permitted  to  approach  him  on 
matters  of  business,  but  he  shunned  society  and  divided 
his  time  between  his  own  well-guarded  home  and  his 
equally  well-guarded  office  in  the  War  Department. 

Enver  was  the  special  tool  of  the  Germans,  and  I 
know  from  personal  experience  that  practically  the 
only  way  to  gain  his  ear  was  through  the  good  offices 
of  Germans  connected  with  the  Embassy  or  attached  to 
the  Turkish  War  Department. 

While  the  personalities  of  Talaat  and  Enver  are 
vividly  imprinted  on  my  mind,  nevertheless  my  knowl- 
edge of  them  is  second-hand,  and  such  as  any  Ameri- 
can might  have  who  had  followed  the  course  of  events 
in  Turkey  for  the  past  ten  years.  When  it  comes, 
however,  to  Jemal  Pasha  and  Azmi  Bey,  the  protago- 
nists in  the  war-drama  of  Syria,  I  feel  that  I  am  quali- 
fied to  speak  with  far  more  certainty  and  assurance. 


138  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Not  only  did  I  see  both  of  these  men  frequently,  and 
even  in  the  case  of  Jemal  in  a  social  way,  but  my  own 
life  was  shadowed  with  the  horror  and  anxiety  which 
even  indirect  contact  with  such  devilish  personalities 
inspired.  I  am  fully  aware  that  certain  members  even 
of  our  own  American  community  have  spoken  in  de- 
fence of  these  men,  but  in  all  such  cases  it  is  easy  to 
trace  the  reason  in  the  fact  that  they  were  the  recipi- 
ents of  very  marked  favours  in  the  way  of  patronage 
and  special  privileges.  The  Turks  realized  that  by 
granting  such  favours  they  themselves  would  eventu- 
ally profit,  directly  or  indirectly.  There  were  several 
periods  during  the  course  of  the  war,  particularly  after 
tlie  breaking  of  relations  between  the  United  States 
and  Turkey,  when  the  very  existence  of  such  institu- 
tions as  the  Syrian  Protestant  College  and  the  Ameri- 
can Mission  schools  was  extremely  precarious.  The 
Turks  were  already  in  possession  of  the  property  of  all 
belligerent  institutions,  and  they  were  devoured  with 
longing  to  assume  like  control  over  American  prop- 
erty. The  situation  was  an  extremely  delicate  one, 
and  one  which  called  for  consummate  tact  and  diplo- 
macy. Fortunately  our  American  Ambassadors  to  the 
Sublime  Porte  during  this  period,  Mr.  Morgenthau  and 
Mr.  Elkus,  were  richly  endowed  with  both  of  these 
necessary  qualities,  but  there  was  so  little  coordination 
between  the  Government  in  Constantinople  and  the 
provincial  officials  that  a  point  once  settled  in  principle 
in  the  Capital  might,  nevertheless,  cause  constant  diffi- 
culty and  annoyance  in  the  provinces.  Such  a  matter 
as  the  collection  of  taxes  on  the  property  of  foreign 


Unjust  Stewards  Ijg 

institutions,  for  instance,  had  been  theoretically  settled 
for  all  time  when  the  Capitulations  were  formulated; 
but  when,  after  the  abrogation  of  these  treaties,  the 
matter  was  again  raised,  the  Sublime  Porte  stated  in 
positive  terms  that  American  institutions  were  still  to 
be  exempt.  Even  such  a  definite  statement  of  policy, 
however,  on  the  part  of  the  Central  Government  did 
not  prevent  the  frequent  resurrection  of  this  old  cause 
of  friction.  Time  and  again  charges  for  taxes  were 
presented  to  the  American  institutions,  and  time  and 
again  the  matter  was  referred  to  Constantinople  and 
the  previous  decisions  reconfirmed.  The  same  was 
true  of  questions  connected  with  special  permits  for 
individual  schools  operated  by  the  Americans  under 
one  general,  blanket  firman  (or  imperial  permit), 
from  the  Sultan ;  likewise  of  the  exemption  of  pastors 
and  teachers  from  military  service,  and  other  matters 
no  less  vitally  connected  with  the  existence  of  Ameri- 
can educational  institutions  in  the  Empire.  As  long  as 
there  was  an  Ambassador  in  Constantinople,  there  was 
only  one  course  of  action  for  the  Americans  to  take, 
namely,  the  reference  of  their  problems  to  their  na- 
tional representative  at  the  Capital;  but  after  the  de- 
parture of  the  Ambassador  in  1917,  all  such  issues 
could  only  be  settled  locally,  and  by  the  exercise  of 
tact  and  persuasion.  Although  American  interests  had 
been  confided  to  a  neutral  government,  our  treaty 
rights  were  not  sufficiently  understood  by  this  to  give 
us  adequate  protection.  Moreover,  the  Swedish  Lega- 
tion was  avowedly  pro-German  in  sympathies,  and  in 
many  cases  where  the  Germans  were  at  the  bottom  of 


140         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

some  particular  unpleasantness,  the  Swedish  Minister 
refused  to  act  against  the  interests  of  his  Teutonic 
friends. 

The  Turks  naturally  took  advantage  of  our  defence- 
less position  to  stir  up  many  old  causes  of  grievance 
in  the  hope  that  they  might  either  enrich  themselves  by 
the  sale  of  favours  to  the  Americans  still  resident  in 
the  country,  or  that  they  might  come  into  possession  of 
certain  much  coveted  properties  in  Syria  such  as  the 
American  College  in  Beirut  and  the  American  Mission 
property  in  the  out-stations.  Obviously,  there  were 
two  courses  for  the  Americans  to  follow:  that  of  in- 
gratiating themselves  with  those  in  power,  and  thereby 
obtaining  immunity  from  aggressions;  or  that  of  ad- 
hering staunchly  to  what  had  been  in  the  past  the 
American  national  principle  in  dealing  with  the  Turks, 
whatever  the  cost  might  be  in  loss  of  property  or  inter- 
ference with  established  activities.  The  Syrian  Prot- 
estant College  took  the  former  course,  and  the  Ameri- 
can Presbyterian  Mission  the  latter,  and  it  is  somewhat 
of  a  commentary  on  the  undependability  of  the  Turk 
that  subsequent  events  proved  that  each  course  brought 
results  practically  contrary  to  what  might  have  been 
expected.  It  might  almost  be  laid  down  as  a  general 
principle  that  concession  to  one  demand  from  the 
Turks  brought  another  on  its  heels,  while  a  firm  refusal 
frequently  "  called  their  bluff." 

The  foregoing  remarks,  though  merely  a  hint,  may 
serve  to  explain  the  fact  that  two  Americans  resident 
in  Syria  under  the  regime  of  Jemal  Pasha  and  Azmi 
Bey  may  give  entirely  contradictory  reports  as  to  the 


Unjust  Stewards  141 

true  nature  of  these  much-talked-of  men.  The  Col- 
lege was  the  recipient  of  many  favours  from  both,  and 
doubtless  feels  honour-bound  to  temper  its  criticism 
accordingly.  The  Mission,  on  the  other  hand,  suffered 
particularly  at  the  hands  of  the  local  governors,  as  it 
was  firmly  determined  not  to  yield  in  the  smallest  de- 
tail to  what  it  considered  unreasonable  demands,  espe- 
cially when  compliance  with  such  demands  might  bring 
into  question  its  loyalty  to  its  own  government.  The 
American  Mission  had  come  out  to  the  country  to 
serve  the  Syrian  people;  and  while  the  missionaries 
respected  the  laws  of  the  Ottoman  Government,  and 
conscientiously  endeavoured  to  render  unto  Caesar 
Caesar's  due,  and  never  overstepped  their  treaty  rights, 
their  sympathies  were  frankly  with  the  subject  race; 
and  wherever  possible  they  used  their  influence  in  be- 
half of  the  oppressed.  I  doubt  whether  they  had  even 
vaguely  formulated  the  theory  of  a  nation's  right  to 
self-determination  before  President  Wilson  gave  utter- 
ance to  his  famous  "  Fourteen  Points,"  but  the  merest 
humanity  compelled  cooperation  with  those  who  were 
in  distress,  even  though  that  policy  might  result  in 
open  conflict  with  the  oppressor.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  maintenance  of  over-cordial  relations  with  the 
Turkish  authorities  seemed  to  some  Americans  to  bor- 
der on  treachery  to  their  own  government  and  disloy- 
alty to  their  Syrian  proteges. 

Jemal  Pasha  was  one  of  the  famous  Triumvirate  in 
power  in  Constantinople.  He  was  Minister  of  Marine, 
and  during  the  war.  Commander  of  the  Fourth  Army 
Corps,  operating  in  Syria  and  Mesopotamia.    In  the 


142  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

winter  of  1914-15  he  established  his  headquarters  in 
Damascus  for  the  campaign  against  Egypt.  Less 
fearful  of  assassination,  and  hence  less  elusive  than 
Enver,  he  was  also  more  sociable  and  easy  of  access 
than  was  the  Minister  of  War.  I  saw  him  many  times 
and  met  him  personally  on  several  occasions,  both  in 
Syria  and  in  Constantinople. 

His  physical  presence  was  not  imposing.  His 
frame  was  powerful  but  stocky,  but  he  had  the  most 
piercing  glance  I  have  ever  met.  Tricky  and  cruel  as 
the  man  was  known  to  be,  he  possessed  a  certain  per- 
sonal magnetism.  Mr.  Morgenthau  likens  him  to  a 
medieval  robber-baron,  and  indeed  the  comparison  is 
most  apt.  In  his  assumption  of  unlimited  power,  he 
reduced  his  subordinates  to  the  state  of  serfs  and  abject 
retainers.  He  was  virtually  dictator  in  Syria,  and  the 
court  of  last  resort,  and  he  seldom  concerned  himself 
with  his  obligations  to  Constantinople.  He  could  be 
relentless  or  generous  as  he  pleased,  but  it  is  said  of 
him  generally  that  he  was  a  man  of  his  word,  and  that 
his  promise  once  given  was  secure.  He  played  the 
game  of  starving  Syria  with  a  mask  of  hypocritical  re- 
gret, but  his  actions  left  no  doubt  as  to  his  contempt 
and  hostility  toward  the  Arab  race.  It  is  also  sus- 
pected that  the  concessions  which  he  made  to  for- 
eigners in  his  jurisdiction,  especially  in  the  American 
educational  and  relief-work,  were  made  with  the  hope 
that,  in  case  the  campaign  should  go  against  him,  and 
he  should  decide  to  cast  himself  into  the  hands  of  the 
Entente,  these  deeds  would  all  be  counted  to  him  for 
righteousness.     He  was  known  to  be  bitterly  anti- 


Unjust  Stewards  143 

German,  and  Francophile.     He  was  also — to  his  credit 
be  it  said — no  friend  of  Enver  or  of  the  Beirut  Vdli. 

Partly  through  the  innate  cruelty  of  the  man,  and 
partly  through  his  consummate  tactlessness,  Jemal 
Pasha  succeeded  early  in  the  war  in  directing  toward 
himself  the  undying  enmity  of  the  Arabs.  At  the 
time  of  the  departure  of  the  French  Consul  from 
Beirut,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  certain  extremely 
dangerous  documents  were  left  in  the  French  Consul- 
ate, hidden  behind  a  false  wall.  When  the  American 
Consul  General,  Mr.  Hollis,  took  over  the  protection 
of  French  interests  in  Syria,  he  implored  the  French 
Consul  to  destroy  any  papers  which,  should  they  fall 
into  the  hands  of  Turks,  might  serve  to  incriminate 
Ottoman  subjects.  The  French  Consul,  however,  was 
deaf  to  this  appeal,  and  departed  leaving  behind  him 
numerous  documents  connected  with  the  French  propa- 
ganda in  Syria.  Some  of  these  were  signed  letters 
from  Syrians  with  French  sympathies  promising  finan- 
cial and  political  support  to  any  attempt  France  might 
make  to  liberate  the  country  from  Turkish  dominion. 
These  documents  were  undoubtedly  evidence  of  high 
treason  on  the  part  of  those  in  the  conspiracy,  and 
perhaps  any  government  would  have  been  justified  in 
dealing  with  the  offenders  as  traitors.  However,  with 
diplomacy  and  tact,  the  matter  might  have  been  han- 
dled in  a  way  that  would  have  increased  rather  than 
destroyed  the  Ottoman  prestige  with  the  Arabs. 
Jemal,  as  Military  Governor  of  Syria,  dealt  with  the 
matter  in  a  most  summary  fashion,  and  thereby  roused 
the  revengeful  hatred  of  the  whole  Arab  race.     Not 


144         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

only  did  he  hang  without  trial  the  principal  offenders, 
whatever  their  rank  or  political  following,  but  he  so 
far  overstepped  the  bounds  of  caution  as  to  include  in 
the  number  executed  an  Algerian  prince. 

It  may  be  argued  that  during  a  time  of  war  a  gov- 
ernment must  resort  to  drastic  measures  to  suppress 
treason,  but  the  fact  remains  that  the  course  which  the 
Government  followed  was  more  disastrous  than  salu- 
tary in  the  long  run.  Moreover,  previous  to  the  war, 
the  Arab  party  had  been  recognized  by  the  Ottoman 
Cabinet,  and  the  Sublime  Porte  had  agreed  to  the  ex- 
istence of  a  decentralization  party.  It  was  not  as 
though  the  Arab  Nationalists  had  secretly  sprung  into 
being  during  a  time  of  war,  and  had  taken  advantage 
of  Turkey's  preoccupation  with  military  affairs  to  in- 
trigue with  foreign  Powers.  The  result  of  Jemal's 
efforts  to  crush  the  Arab  power  was  that  thencefor- 
ward the  Arabs  transferred  their  allegiance  to  the  Brit- 
ish; and  the  bitterest  enemies  that  Jemal  Pasha  had, 
both  as  a  man  and  as  a  ruler,  were  those  in  the  province 
under  his  administration. 

The  authority  of  Jemal  Pasha  in  Syria  was  that  of 
a  military  dictator,  and  in  this  capacity  he  frequently 
clashed  with  the  civil  authorities  in  the  provinces  under 
his  jurisdiction.  It  has  already  been  explained  that 
the  entire  Turkish  Empire  was  divided  into  states  or 
vilayets,  under  Vdlis,  or  Governors,  each  of  whom  was 
directly  responsible  to  the  Sultan.  The  zone  of  the 
Fourth  Army  in  Syria  included  three  such  vilayets, 
Beirut,  Damascus,  and  Aleppo.  When  the  war  broke 
out,  the  Vdli  of  Beirut  was  one  Sami  Bekir.    He  was 


Unjust  Stewards  145 

a  tall,  florid  Turk,  who  lived  on  fairly  good  terms  with 
the  foreigners.  He  frequented  the  so-called  French 
Club,  an  organization  which,  after  the  breaking  of  re- 
lations, was  camouflaged  as  the  American  Club  (a 
complete  misnomer),  and  still  later  as  the  Syrian  Club. 
He  was  very  fond  of  gambling,  and  owing  to  this  pas- 
sion, was  on  more  or  less  familiar  terms  with  a  certain 
class  of  wealthy  Syrians.  His  presence  was  always 
manifest  in  his  goings  and  comings  about  the  city,  for 
he  travelled  in  a  large  and  very  blatant  yellow  automo- 
bile. As  he  was  not  entirely  in  favour  with  the  Young 
Turk  party,  and  was  also  not  above  suspicion  of  having 
an  itching  palm,  he  was  removed  early  in  the  war  to 
Aleppo,  and  replaced  by  a  man  of  an  entirely  different 
stamp. 

Azmi  Bey,  the  new  Vdli,  was  then  about  forty-five 
years  of  age.  He  was  slightly  undersized,  and  gave 
the  impression  of  physical  weakness,  which  was  further 
accentuated  by  his  cruel  and  dissipated  face.  His 
black  hair  was  slightly  grizzled,  as  was  his  Van  Dyck 
beard.  In  appearance  he  was  more  Armenian  than 
pure  Turkish  in  type,  but  in  character  he  was  a  Turk 
of  the  Turks,  and  one  of  the  very  wickedest.  He  was 
openly  known  to  be  an  agent  of  the  Young  Turk  party, 
a  tool  of  Enver,  and  one  of  that  class  of  Turks  who 
were  fanatically  anti-foreign.  Nevertheless,  his  inor- 
dinate ambition  frequently  brought  him  into  conflict 
with  his  part)''-leaders  at  the  Capital,  and  there  were  at 
least  two  occasions  when  he  was  summoned  to  Con- 
stantinople and  when  his  return  to  Syria  seemed  ex- 
tremely doubtful.    As  former  Prefect  of  Police  at 


146         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Constantinople,  he  had  a  long  record  of  crimes  at  his 
door,  and  it  was  known  that  on  more  than  one  occasion 
he  had  acted  as  political  assassin,  a  convenient  method 
of  ridding  himself  of  his  enemies  which  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  employ  in  his  later  career  in  Syria.  Azmi 
was  the  notorious  cut-throat  which  the  Young  Turk 
party  sent  to  Paris  some  time  before  the  war  to  assas- 
sinate General  Sherif  Pasha,  but  on  that  occasion  he 
bungled  the  affair  and  killed  instead  the  Pasha's  aide- 
de-camp.  The  deed  was  accomplished  in  broad  day- 
light in  the  heart  of  Paris,  and  Azmi  coolly  descended 
from  the  scene  of  his  crime  to  a  waiting  automobile, 
and  was  spirited  away  before  the  outraged  French 
could  apprehend  him.  Two  years  later  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  his  party  he  boarded  a  Russian  steamer  bound 
from  Odessa  to  Egypt,  which  had  called  at  Constanti- 
nople, enticed  on  shore  another  enemy  of  the  Young 
Turk  regime,  whom  he  murdered  that  night  in  one  of 
the  dreadful  dungeons  of  Stamboul.  For  his  Paris 
crime  the  French  Government  offered  a  heavy  bounty 
for  him,  dead  or  alive,  should  he  ever  enter  France  or 
fall  into  French  hands.  During  the  war  his  various 
villainies  gained  him  such  a  reputation  that  he  was  in 
particularly  bad  odour  with  the  Entente  who  ranked 
him  with  Talaat,  Enver  and  Jemal  in  responsibility  for 
the  numerous  atrocities  which  can  be  laid  at  the  door 
of  the  party-leaders  in  Constantinople. 

Like  Jemal  Pasha,  with  whom  he  was  at  swords* 
points — a  fact  which  probably  gained  him  the  special 
favour  of  Enver — ^Azmi  Bey  was  a  man  by  instinct  and 
actions  eminently  more  suited  to  a  barbaric  rather  than 


Unjust  Stewards  147 

a  civilized  age.  Although  he  enjoys  the  reputation  of 
being  somewhat  of  an  ascetic,  Aznii  Bey  was  in  reality 
profligate  in  his  private  life.  A  sister  of  charity  gave 
me  a  circumstantial  account  of  his  attempt  to  abduct 
one  of  the  orphans  under  her  care,  a  tale  which  in  no 
wise  contradicts  other  reports  that  I  have  heard  of  his 
low  moral  standards.  His  chief  virtues  are  said  to 
have  been  punctuality,  industry,  and  devotion  to  his 
official  duties,  even  at  the  sacrifice  of  social  pleasures. 
He  was  positively  fanatical  in  his  enthusiasm  for  Tur- 
key, and  there  was  nothing  feigned  in  his  hatred  of 
foreigners,  or  in  his  resentment  at  their  interference 
with  Ottoman  affairs.  He  was  outspoken  in  his  likes 
and  dislikes,  and  made  no  secret  of  the  fact  that  he 
lived  in  constant  terror  of  assassination.  He  was 
never  out  of  reach  of  a  loaded  revolver  which  he  would 
have  used  in  self-defence  just  as  coolly  as  he  had  em- 
ployed similar  weapons  for  the  destruction  of  his 
enemies. 

On  Azmi  Bey  and  his  minions  rests  the  blame  for 
most  of  the  starvation  and  suffering  in  the  vast  district 
under  his  control.  He  was  carrying  out  the  exter- 
mination program  instituted  by  the  Young  Turk  Gov- 
ernment, and  in  the  execution  of  this  congenial  task  he 
found  great  satisfaction  also  in  venting  his  hatred 
against  foreigners.  He  consistently  either  prohibited, 
or  interfered  with  all  relief-projects  undertaken  by  the 
Americans  in  Beirut  Vilayet.  He  did  countenance  one 
or  two  relief-organizations  carried  on  under  the  pat- 
ronage of  certain  wealthy  Syrians  whose  favour  he 
wished  to  win  for  the  financing  of  a  large  gambling 


148         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

casino  and  amusement  park  which  he  was  building 
near  the  city.  Incidentally,  it  is  an  interesting  fact 
that  this  very  casino,  four  months  after  Azmi's  de- 
parture from  Beirut,  was  being  used  by  the  British 
Army  Y.  M.  C.  A.  He  also  established  soup-kitchens 
which  provided  an  erratic  and  insufficient  food-allow- 
ance for  a  small  fraction  of  the  hungry  of  Beirut.  At 
the  same  time,  however,  that  he  was  nominally  patron- 
izing these,  he  was  satisfying  his  vanity  by  wholesale 
attempts  at  city-improvement,  which,  however  laudable 
at  any  other  time,  were  the  cause  of  injustice  and  suf- 
fering and  were  regarded  by  the  people  as  merely 
another  scheme  of  destruction  on  the  part  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. Whole  sections  of  the  city  were  torn  down 
to  make  new  or  wider  roads.  Property  owners  were 
not  reimbursed  for  houses  or  shops  thus  destroyed,  nor 
was  any  provision  made  for  housing  the  hundreds  of 
poor  people  formerly  huddled  in  the  crowded  sections 
thus  demolished.  Men  were  forced  to  work  on  this 
roadmaking  but  were  not  adequately  paid.  While 
parts  of  the  city  were  undeniably  improved,  other  por- 
tions looked  as  if  they  had  been  destroyed  by  an  earth- 
quake. Nothing  would  convince  a  Jerusalem  man 
who  came  to  Beirut  early  in  1917  that  there  was  no 
truth  to  the  report  prevalent  in  the  Holy  City  that 
Beirut  had  three  times  been  bombarded  by  Entente 
ships.  Were  not  the  evidences  of  it  before  him  In 
what  is  now,  in  1919,  Allenby  Street? 

By  1917  Azmi  Bey  could  not  travel  from  his  house 
to  the  city  limits  along  the  main  thoroughfares  without 
seeing  in  the  streets  all  along  the  route  people  eithei: 


Unjust  Stewards  149 

dead  or  dying  of  starvation ;  yet  he  refused  to  let  wheat 
into  the  city,  and  decreed  that  all  foodstuffs  should  be 
subject  to  taxation  or  seizure  at  the  border.  Finally, 
when  the  Americans  transferred  their  efforts  at  relief 
from  the  province  under  his  jurisdiction  to  Lebanon,  he 
attempted  to  put  a  stop  to  the  work  by  deporting  the 
two  Americans  who  were  especially  active  in  the  fin- 
ancing and  the  organization  of  relief-enterprises. 

For  more  than  three  years  Azmi  Bey  proved  so  use- 
ful an  agent  of  the  party  of  Union  and  Progress  that 
he  was  suffered  to  remain  in  office,  although  there  were 
times  when  his  position  seemed  extremely  precarious. 
As  an  official  he  placed  his  own  interests  above  those  of 
his  country,  and  there  is  positive  evidence  of  his  cor- 
ruption and  abuse  of  his  authority.  He  had  the  bold- 
ness to  hint  to  Mr.  Dana,  three  days  before  the  latter's 
arrest  and  deportation,  that  there  was  trouble  ahead 
which  might  be  averted  by  the  payment  of  $50,000. 
He  was  ultimately  recalled  in  disgrace  by  the  very 
party  in  Constantinople  which  had  placed  him  in  office, 
and  was  summoned  to  the  Capital  to  defend  himself 
against  serious  charges.  The  case  went  so  badly  with 
him  that  for  a  time  he  was  imprisoned  in  the  War  De- 
partment; and  shortly  after  Mr.  Dana's  release  from 
his  incarceration,  when  calling  at  the  Prison  one  day, 
the  Commandant  of  the  Prison  asked  him  whether  he 
would  enjoy  the  sight  of  his  enemy  behind  the  bars. 
His  imprisonment  was  not  of  long  duration,  however, 
and  he  was  soon  strutting  about  the  city  as  if  he  owned 
the  place.  On  several  occasions  the  Danas  and  I 
lunched  at  the  table  next  to  his  at  the  Tokatlian  Hotel 


15*0         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

In  Pera,  and  I  for  one  did  not  find  that  his  presence 
whetted  my  appetite.  Azmi  Bey  was  one  of  that  band 
of  fugitives  from  justice  who  fled  from  Constantinople 
just  before  the  British  occupation.  It  is  supposed  that 
he  sought  sanctuary  in  Germany,  where  he  is  probably 
still  hiding,  although  frequent  reports  of  his  suicide 
have  been  circulated  in  the  Capital — probably  with  a 
view  of  terminating  the  extremely  inconvenient  inter- 
est which  his  enemies  seem  to  take  in  his  whereabouts. 
There  are  many  who  sincerely  hope  that  he  is  still 
alive,  and  within  the  reach  of  retributive  justice ! 

Muhhedin  Bey,  the  Chief  of  Police  in  Beirut,  proved 
an  able  and  sympathetic  assistant  in  any  villainies 
which  the  Vdli  devised.  He  was  also  a  notorious  as- 
sassin, and  had  been  employed  by  the  Young  Turk 
party  to  murder  the  editor  of  the  Tannin,  whom  he 
shot  at  noon  on  the  Galata  Bridge  at  Constantinople. 
Never  was  life  in  Beirut  more  precarious  for  Syrian  or 
for  foreigner  alike  than  during  the  dual  regime  of 
these  two  men.  No  chief  of  police  in  Beirut  ever  had 
assembled  about  him  such  a  number  of  unscrupulous 
private  agents  and  cut-throats.  He  had  any  number 
of  men  on  his  spy  list  whom  he  could  call  into  the 
office,  hand  a  silver  coin,  and  a  slip  of  paper  bearing 
the  name  of  any  individual  whatsoever,  and  say,  "  I 
want  that  man  killed."  He  could  be  sure  that  the  task 
would  be  accomplished  before  another  sun  had  set. 
His  system  of  terror  and  extortion  was  unprecedented 
even  in  Syria.  He  formed  false  sugar  companies, 
mining  companies,  and  building  companies,  and  sent 
the  bogus  stock  certificates  through  the  town,  where  by 


Unjust  Stewards  1^1 

forced  sales  among  the  merchants  he  collected  a  splen- 
did private  fortune. 

In  the  summer  of  1916  Muhhedin  Bey  was  sent  to 
the  wheat  region  about  Urfa,  in  Mesopotamia,  to  pur- 
chase wheat  for  the  needs  of  Beirut  Vilayet,  Had  he 
fulfilled  this  mission  honourably,  there  would  have 
been  no  more  popular  man  in  the  whole  of  Syria.  He 
would  have  been  worshipped  as  a  national  saviour. 
However,  being  a  Turkish  official,  he  saw  in  this 
merely  an  opportunity  for  lining  his  own  pockets.  Out 
of  several  hundred  carloads  of  wheat  purchased  by  him 
with  public  funds  only  six  ever  reached  Beirut! 
Shortly  after  his  return  to  Syria,  he  pled  urgent  per- 
sonal business  which  necessitated  his  going  to  Con- 
stantinople for  a  flying  trip.  He  had  only  just  passed 
Aleppo  when  agents  of  Azmi,  who  was  exasperated  at 
the  failure  of  his  colleague  to  divide  the  profits,  over- 
took him  and  searched  his  baggage.  Among  the  boxes 
which  were  said  to  contain  merely  his  personal  effects 
and  gifts  of  silk  and  wool  for  friends  in  Constantinople 
were  found  some  f tq.  16,000  in  gold  which  he  had  in- 
tended to  send  to  Switzerland  by  his  aide,  to  be  there 
invested  for  him.  He  was  brought  back  under  guard 
to  'Aleih  where  he  was  put  through  that  famous  Court 
Martial  which  has  unjustly  condemned  so  many  Syr- 
ians to  death.  He  was  acquitted !  What  subsequently 
happened  is  more  or  less  a  matter  of  gossip;  but  it  is 
said  that  in  an  interview  with  Azmi  Bey,  the  latter 
handed  Muhhedin  Bey  a  revolver  with  the  hint  that 
there  was  no  room  on  earth  for  such  a  scoundrel  as  he. 
The  disgraced  Muhhedin  went  first  to  the  Police  Head-^ 


152         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

quarters  with  the  intention  of  murdering  his  succes- 
sor, Hakki  Bey,  whom  he  suspected  of  having  assisted 
in  his  humiliation;  but,  the  acting  chief  being  absent, 
he  returned  to  his  house.  A  few  moments  later  the 
guard  at  the  door  heard  a  revolver-shot,  and  entering 
the  apartment  found  Muhhedin  dying.  His  body  was 
buried  as  criminals  are  buried  in  a  shallow  grave  in  the 
sands  outside  the  city.  When  the  news  of  the  event 
reached  Constantinople,  Talaat  (?),  a  connection  of 
his  by  marriage,  raised  a  terrible  commotion;  and  the 
body  was  disinterred  and  was  sent  in  state  to  the 
Capital.  Never  was  a  man*s  decease  occasion  for 
greater  rejoicing!  Many  an  innocent  person  slept 
more  easily  the  night  after  his  death  was  publicly 
known.  His  successor,  Mukhtar  Bey,  was  a  quiet, 
friendly  Turk  who  tried  to  soften  conditions  as  much 
as  he  dared  under  the  reign  of  Azmi,  and  who  had  a 
splendid  record  for  fair  dealing.  In  comparison  with 
that  of  Muhhedin,  his  regime  seemed  positively  benefi- 
cent. 

It  is  indeed  refreshing,  after  the  rehearsal  of  the 
infamies  of  such  men  as  Azmi  and  Muhhedin,  involv- 
ing as  it  does  the  memory  of  many  episodes  connected 
with  my  uncle's  experiences  so  terrible  that  even  the 
thought  of  them  makes  me  shudder,  to  turn  to  two 
other  Turks  who  ruled  in  Syria,  but  who  were  men  of 
entirely  different  spirit.  One  was  AH  Munif  Bey,  for 
two  years  Governor  of  the  independent  province  of 
Lebanon.  He  was,  of  course,  affiliated  with  the 
Young  Turk  party,  but  he  was  a  man  of  quiet  force, 
who  by  the  dignity  of  his  character  and  his  diplomacy 


Unjust  Stewards  153 

succeeded  in  maintaining  friendly  relations  with  the 
powers  in  Constantinople  without  surrendering  him- 
self to  them  as  a  tool.  I  have  already  described  his 
attitude  in  regard  to  the  relief-work  which  he  wished 
the  Americans  to  transfer  from  Beirut  to  Lebanon,  and 
I  believe  it  is  fair  to  say  that  under  him  Lebanon  en- 
joyed comparative  justice  and  tolerance  in  affairs  con- 
nected with  governmental  administration.  During  his 
regime  poverty,  starvation,  and  suffering  were  not  in 
the  least  abated;  but  the  amelioration  of  those  condi- 
tions depended  on  matters  entirely  beyond  the  control 
of  the  Lebanon  Governor.  It  has  already  been  pointed 
out  that  Lebanon  was  not  self-supporting,  and  that  the 
wheat-supply  must  be  imported  from  regions  lying  to 
the  east  and  northeast.  Even  the  beneficent  governor 
in  the  "  island  "  of  Lebanon  was  powerless  to  alleviate 
the  suffering  of  his  subjects,  without  the  support  and 
cooperation  of  the  governors  of  these  wheat  districts, 
and  of  the  land  that  lay  between.  Against  the  hostility 
of  Jemal  Pasha  and  of  Azmi  Bey,  and  their  determina- 
tion to  brook  no  interference  with  their  plan  of  starva- 
tion, especially  in  Lebanon,  Ali  Munif  was  impotent. 

Early  in  1917  he  was  called  to  Constantinople  to 
occupy  a  position  in  the  Turkish  Cabinet,  and  was 
given  the  portfolio  of  Minister  of  Public  Works  and 
Public  Instruction.  To  my  mind,  his  conduct  after 
the  Armistice  is  the  best  possible  commentary  on  his 
character.  When  Enver,  Talaat,  and  Jemal  fled  for 
their  lives  from  the  approach  of  the  Entente,  Ali 
Munif  Bey  was  one  of  the  very  few  men  who  had  held 
office  under  the  Young  Turks*  regime  who  was  not 


154         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

afraid  to  face  the  incoming  armies.  He  remained 
quietly  in  Constantinople;  and  although  he  was  sub- 
jected to  an  interrogation,  I  am  told  that  he  was 
granted  honourable  acquittal.  As  far  as  I  know,  he 
still  resides  in  the  Capital. 

His  successor  as  Governor  of  Lebanon,  Ismail 
Hakki  Bey,  who  had  formerly  held  the  position  of 
Turkish  Counsellor  in  Egypt,  was  a  humane  and  oblig- 
ing man,  interested  in  the  welfare  of  his  people,  and  an 
open  promoter  of  education,  sanitation,  philanthropy, 
and  public  welfare.  He  was  firm  in  administering 
justice,  and  was  not  afraid  to  renovate  his  own  admin- 
istration by  the  imprisonment  of  certain  officials  whose 
habits  had  become  rather  lax  under  former  administra- 
tions. He  recognized  the  defects  of  his  own  govern- 
ment, and  did  not  hesitate  to  call  upon  foreigners  for 
ideas  and  for  assistance  whenever  progressive  action 
could  be  taken  wisely.  When  Azmi  Bey  was  called  to 
Constantinople,  Ismail  Hakki's  jurisdiction  was  ex- 
tended over  Beirut  also,  and  he  held  the  joint  office  of 
Vali  of  Beirut  and  Mutaserrif  of  Lebanon.  He  re- 
mained in  office  until  a  few  days  before  the  arrival  of 
the  British  on  October  8,  1918,  when  he  hurriedly  de- 
parted for  Constantinople.  He  left  behind  him  a  rec- 
ord for  clean  and  honourable  dealing,  and  all  who 
knew  him  are  frank  to  admit  that  during  his  regime 
the  country  prospered  as  it  had  at  no  other  time  during 
the  war. 

There  are  two  other  public  characters  connected 
with  affairs  in  Syria  who  should  rightfully  be  included 
in  this  chapter  of  personalities.     One  is  Tahsin  Bey, 


Unjust  Stewards  15^ 

Governor  of  Damascus,  and  the  other  Is  Bedri  Bey, 
Governor  of  Aleppo.  Tahsin  Bey's  character  was  far 
superior  to  that  of  any  of  his  associates;  and  had  he 
been  Governor  of  Beirut,  the  history  of  Hfe  there  dur- 
ing the  war  would  have  been  far  different  from  what  it 
was.  I  believe  that  Tahsin  Bey  of  Damascus  can  be 
identified  with  Tahsin  Pasha  who  was  Governor  of 
Van  just  previous  to  the  Armenian  massacres  in  1915, 
but  who  was  replaced  by  Jevdet  Bey,  because  he  could 
not  be  relied  on  to  carry  out  the  government  policy  of 
persecuting  the  Christians.  Tahsin  Bey  was  a  hard- 
working, forceful  man,  and  a  born  politician.  He  cor- 
dially hated  the  Germans,  and  opposed  them  point  by 
point  in  their  repeated  attempts  to  take  over  the  ad- 
ministration of  Damascus.  Had  the  Vdli  there  been 
a  less  positive  character,  the  Germans  would  undoubt- 
edly have  succeeded  in  establishing  a  Teutonic  admin- 
istration in  that  great  Oriental  city,  which  they  realized 
would  be  a  priceless  possession  for  supplies  and  for 
equipment  in  any  project  which  they  might  undertake. 
If  they  had  carried  out  their  plans,  they  would  most 
certainly  have  precipitated  an  Arab  revolution  in  Da- 
mascus and  in  the  surrounding  region,  with  the  prob- 
able result  that  Syria  would  have  passed  under  British 
control  many  months  earlier  than  this  actually  hap- 
pened. Tahsin  Bey  was  openly  friendly  to  American 
relief-work;  and  once,  while  visiting  Dr.  Dray's  hos- 
pice and  soup-kitchen  in  Brumm^na,  as  the  guest  of 
Ismail  Hakki  Bey,  he  was  so  impressed  with  the  work 
that  he  gave  an  order  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons 
of  wheat. 


156         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Bedri  Bey  in  Aleppo  was  likewise  a  prominent  figure 
in  Constantinople  politics.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
he  was  Prefect  of  Police  in  the  Capital,  but  was  later 
given  the  post  in  Aleppo,  probably  in  order  that  he 
might  extract  his  share  of  the  financial  plums  in  Syria. 
While  in  Aleppo  he  instituted  great  plans  for  civic 
improvement,  and  thereby  accumulated  large  sums  of 
money  which  went  into  his  private  pocket. 

These  are  the  men  who  caused  the  public  sorrow  of 
Syria ;  and  I  wonder  whether  the  reader  will  pause  in 
his  reading,  as  I  have  done  so  often  in  writing,  to 
marvel  that  such  men  could  live  and  rule  during  the 
twentieth  century.  Could  anything  equal  the  charac- 
ters of  Azmi  and  Jemal  as  a  proof  of  the  real  nature 
of  the  Turkish  Government,  and  could  anything  be 
surer  evidence  that  Turkey  as  a  nation  has  forfeited  all 
rights  to  an  independent  existence?  Such  men  as  I 
have  just  described  are  not  exceptional,  but  are  typical 
Turks;  and  a  country  which  can  produce,  and  which 
tolerates  such  men  as  its  governing  class,  cannot  be 
trusted  with  the  safety  of  subject-races. 


THE  EFFECT  IN  SYRIA  OF  AMERICA'S 
ENTRANCE  INTO  THE  WAR 

ALL  our  special  excitements  in  Beirut  seemed  to 
come  on  Sunday,  we  could  never  understand 
exactly  why,  although  some  ingenious  member 
of  the  community  suggested  that  it  was  because  Sun- 
day was  to  the  Moslems  what  Tuesday  is  to  us.  On 
Saturday,  corresponding  to  our  Monday,  the  officials, 
back  at  their  desks  with  that  fresh  zeal  for  work  which 
attends  the  opening  of  a  new  week,  turned  over  their 
records,  and  recalled  to  mind  items  which  had  perhaps 
been  overlooked  in  the  pressure  of  more  urgent  affairs. 
Sunday,  like  our  Tuesday,  was  the  day  for  executing 
any  newly  formed  resolutions.  Moreover,  Sunday 
was  the  day  when  we  were  known  to  be  at  home,  or  in 
church,  and  when,  therefore,  we  were  easy  to  find. 
Whatever  the  reason  may  have  been,  the  fact  remains 
that  Sunday  was  the  one  day  in  the  week  when  we 
were  particularly  liable  to  annoyance  from  the  Govern- 
ment. 

The  day  when  the  severance  of  diplomatic  relations 
between  the  United  States  and  Turkey  was  announced 
in  Beirut  proved  no  exception  to  the  general  rule.  On 
April  22nd,  one  of  the  first  hot  days  of  early  summer, 
as  we  were  coming  out  of  church,  we  noticed  a  police- 

157 


158         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

man  stationed  at  the  outer  gate  of  the  Press,  which  is 
adjacent  to  the  church.  Had  I  been  asked  to  state 
anything  extraordinary  about  the  appearance  of  the 
street  at  that  time  I  should  probably  have  overlooked 
the  policeman,  for  the  gray  uniform  of  the  Turkish 
police  was  too  familiar  a  sight  to  attract  notice.  But 
to  the  manager  of  the  Press  that  motionless  guard 
meant  something  out  of  the  common.  Later  in  the 
day,  when  we  learned  of  the  breaking  of  relations  be- 
tween our  own  country  and  the  Ottoman  Empire,  the 
presence  of  that  Turkish  guard  became  instantly  intel- 
ligible. The  average  Turkish  official  saw  no  distinc- 
tion between  the  rupture  of  diplomatic  relations  and  an 
actual  declaration  of  war.  Thenceforth  Americans 
also  were  regarded  as  belligerents.  The  policeman  at 
the  gate  was  the  first  step  in  Turkey's  plan  of  confiscat- 
ing American  property,  just  as  she  had  seized  the 
property  of  other  belligerents. 

The  three  days  that  followed  were  full  of  excite- 
ment. A  rupture  between  America  and  Turkey  came 
as  no  surprise;  indeed,  we  had  believed  for  months 
that  it  was  imminent,  so  that  when  the  blow  fell,  we 
were  not  found  wholly  unprepared.  Against  just  such 
an  emergency  the  manager  of  the  Press  had  removed 
to  other  quarters  certain  valuable  papers  and  money, 
including  a  small  reserve  of  gold.  No  attempt  was 
made  to  open  the  Press  on  Monday  morning.  No  at- 
tention was  paid  to  the  Turkish  guard,  and  he  remained 
at  his  post  quite  oblivious  of  the  fact  that  the  manager 
and  certain  employees  had  entered  by  a  back  door,  and 
were  working  inside  the  shuttered  building  transport- 


America's  Entrance  Into  the  War         159 

ing  records  and  valuables  to  a  place  of  safety.  These 
were  carried  to  a  private  house  in  the  Mission  com- 
pound, at  that  time  unoccupied,  the  owners  being  in 
America.  In  the  course  of  the  morning  enough  had 
been  removed  to  relieve  considerably  the  anxiety  of  the 
manager  who  anticipated  that  the  next  move  on  the  part 
of  the  Government  would  be  to  seize  the  Press  building 
and  confiscate  everything  it  contained.  Great  as  the 
loss  would  be  if  they  should  appropriate  the  paper  and 
other  printing  supplies,  especially  the  thousand  pre- 
cious electroplates  for  the  Arabic  Bible  (each  one 
worth  $12.50),  that  loss  would  be  insignificant  in  com- 
parison with  the  taking  of  the  contents  of  the  safe: 
deeds,  records,  accounts,  and  cash. 

After  this  transfer  had  been  successfully  completed, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dana  and  I  went  to  the  American  Con- 
sulate to  see  what  we  could  do  about  removing  the  gold 
that  was  stored  in  the  Press  safe  there.  Here  likewise 
there  were  Turkish  police  stationed  at  every  door,  but 
they  made  no  attempt  to  interfere  with  our  entering. 
We  knew,  however,  that  they  might  insist  on  searching 
us  as  we  came  out,  for  other  Americans  had  already 
been  subjected  to  that  indignity  earlier  in  the  morning. 
This  being  the  probability,  how  were  we  to  remove  that 
gold?  There  were  $40,000,  wrapped  in  rolls  of  about 
$200  each.  Mr.  Dana  dared  not  carry  any  himself. 
It  was  out  of  the  question  to  think  of  loading  it  into  a 
satchel  and  boldly  walking  out  with  it.  Finally  we 
decided  that  Mrs.  Dana  and  I  should  make  several  trips 
between  the  Consulate  and  our  house,  about  a  mile 
away,  each  time  carrying  as  many  rolls  of  gold  as  we 


l6o         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

could  stow  away  inside  of  our  clothing.  One  by  one, 
the  rolls  were  dropped  down  our  necks  until  the  weight 
was  as  much  as  we  could  carry.  We  found  that  we 
could  manage  about  $6,500  apiece  at  a  time,  and  in 
three  trips  we  succeeded  in  removing  the  entire  amount 
without  arousing  any  suspicion  on  the  part  of  the 
guards.  The  gold  was  subsequently  packed  in  a  tin 
box,  and  was  plastered  up  under  a  marble  floor  in  our 
house  until  such  time  as  conditions  in  the  country 
would  once  more  permit  of  its  circulation.  Every  one 
anticipated  that  the  time  would  come  when  Turkish 
paper-currency  would  be  entirely  discredited,  and  then 
lucky  the  man  who  had  a  little  "  hard  cash  "1 

On  May  7, 1917,  the  American  Consul  General,  Mr. 
Hollis,  the  Vice-Consul,  Mr.  Chesbrough,  and  one  of 
the  American  clerks,  Mr.  Wadsworth,  left  Beirut  for 
the  overland  trip  to  Constantinople.  The  Dutch  Con- 
sul General  in  Beirut  was  entrusted  with  American  and 
Allied  interests.  In  Aleppo  these  gentlemen  were 
joined  by  the  consular  representatives  from  Aleppo 
and  Damascus;  but  owing  to  delays  en  route,  they 
reached  Constantinople  just  a  few  hours  too  late  to 
leave  the  Capital  on  the  Ambassador's  train.  With 
customary  malice,  the  Porte  hindered  their  departure 
from  the  Empire  as  long  as  possible,  and  I  believe  it 
was  July  before  they  were  allowed  to  leave  by  the 
Balkan  Express  for  Europe. 

On  Monday,  April  23rd,  the  American  Press  did  not 
open  its  doors.  This  was  the  first  time  in  half  a  cen- 
tury that  the  Press  had  been  closed  on  any  day  other 
than  a  holiday.    For  two  months  guards  were  sta- 


Americans  Entrance  Into  the  War  161 

tioned  at  the  gate  of  the  Press,  and  at  the  entrance  of 
the  Mission  compound.  Finally  the  Chief  of  Police 
called  Mr.  Dana  to  interview  him  and  requested  him 
to  open  the  doors  and  resume  business,  stating  that  the 
closing  of  such  an  important  commercial  house  was 
creating  a  very  bad  impression  in  the  town,  considering 
the  great  work  which  the  Press  had  done.  The  truth 
was  that  the  Syrians  were  so  indignant  over  the  affair 
that  the  Turks  realized  how  thoroughly  they  had 
roused  public  sentiment  against  them  by  this  particular 
act. 

Mr.  Dana  refused  to  open  the  Press  so  long  as  the 
premises  were  under  police  guard,  and  demanded  offi- 
cial explanations  as  to  why  the  guards  should  be  kept 
there.  The  Chief  replied,  "You  know  that  we  are 
about  to  go  to  war  with  your  country."  To  this  Mr. 
Dana  answered,  "  It  is  not  so.  Your  Government  and 
my  Government  are  not  on  speaking  terms  because  you 
are  an  ally  of  Germany  with  whom  we  are  at  war,  but 
that  does  not  give  you  the  least  right  to  interfere  with 
the  private  property  of  Americans." 

Finding  that  cajolery  had  no  effect,  the  Chief  then 
resorted  to  the  favourite  Turkish  ruse  of  threats.  "  If 
you  don*t  open  the  Press,"  he  stormed,  "  I  will  seize  it 
and  confiscate  everything  in  it."  "  Yes,  I  know  you 
can  do  that,"  the  manager  replied  quietly.  "  You  have 
the  power  and  no  one  can  stop  you.  I  have  no  fear 
of  anything  that  you  or  any  other  Turk  can  do.  My 
only  fear  is  that  a  blot  may  fall  on  the  good  name  of 
the  Press  through  anything  I  myself  may  do.  The 
Press  has  operated  in  this  country  under  Turkish  rule 


l62         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

for  nearly  one  hundred  years,  and  never  in  all  that 
time  has  its  good  reputation  been  tarnished.  I  have 
no  terror  of  you  or  of  the  worst  you  can  do.  I  should 
be  afraid,  however,  to  meet  my  board  of  directors  in 
the  United  States,  if  I  had  brought  discredit  upon  the 
institution  entrusted  to  my  care.  I  should  be  doing 
that  very  thing  if  I  were  to  accede  to  your  unjust  de- 
mands. What  you  take  by  force  does  not  shame  us. 
What  I  voluntarily  surrender  to  you  does." 

A  silence  followed  this  defiant  speech ;  then  with  the 
unaccountable  caprice  of  the  Turk,  the  Chief  of  Police 
reached  for  his  telephone  and  gave  orders  that  the 
guards  should  immediately  be  removed  from  the  Press 
and  the  Mission  property.  Mr.  Dana  thanked  him 
without  comment.  The  next  morning  the  doors  of  the 
Press  were  again  opened. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  much  of  the  Press's  work  had, 
during  this  period,  been  carried  on  from  the  unofficial 
quarters  in  the  private  house  previously  mentioned, 
although  publicly  the  Press  had  ceased  to  function. 

After  the  breaking  of  relations,  the  greatest  problem 
with  which  the  Press  had  to  contend  was  the  matter  of 
the  Syrian  remittances.  It  was  no  longer  possible  to 
pay  these  as  they  had  formerly  been  paid,  for  the  Otto- 
man Government,  which  made  no  distinction  between 
an  actual  declaration  of  war  and  the  mere  rupture  of 
diplomatic  relations,  would  have  branded  the  continued 
attempt  of  the  Americans  to  make  payments  to  Syrians 
as  enemy  propaganda,  with  serious  results  not  only  for 
the  Americans,  but  also  for  the  Syrian  beneficiaries. 
At  this  juncture  a  German  stepped  into  the  breach, 


America's  Entrance  Into  the  War  163 

proving  by  his  tolerance  and  philanthropy  that  he  was 
one  of  those  rare  individuals,  and  rarer  Germans,  who 
were  blessed  with  a  larger  vision,  and  a  love  of  human- 
ity greater  than  their  devotion  to  the  Prussian  system. 
This  German  was  Mr.  Ernst  Schoemann,  Director  of 
the  Deutsche  Paldstina  Bank,  and  Swedish  Consular 
Agent  in  Beirut.  No  higher  tribute  could  have  been 
paid  to  him  than  the  attitude  of  the  American  com- 
munity at  the  time  when  there  was  uncertainty  as  to 
whether  the  American  interests  should  be  entrusted  to 
the  Dutch  or  to  the  Swedish  representatives  in  Beirut. 
In  Constantinople,  the  American  interests  in  Turkey 
had  formally  been  handed  over  to  the  Swedish  Minis- 
ter, the  Honourable  C.  d*Anckerswaerd,  although  the 
Swedish  home-government  and  its  Constantinople  rep- 
resentatives were  admittedly  pro-German.  In  Beirut, 
however,  where  the  Swedish  Consular  Agent  was  in 
fact  a  German,  but  was  in  reality  infinitely  less  fanat- 
ically Prussian  than  his  chief  in  Constantinople,  the 
Swedish  representative  was  rejected,  and  the  American 
affairs  were  entrusted  to  the  Dutch  Consulate  General. 
The  American  residents  as  a  whole  had  been  united  in 
their  desire  that  Mr.  Schoemann  should  be  placed  in 
charge  of  their  interests,  so  great  was  their  confidence 
in  him,  and  so  warm  their  admiration.  There  was 
nothing  of  the  Hun  in  this  quiet  gentleman,  and  it  was 
impossible  to  associate  him  with  the  deeds  of  his  coun- 
trymen in  Europe.  Indeed,  in  his  rare  comments  upon 
the  course  of  military  events,  he  frankly  deplored  the 
brutal  spirit  of  Prussian  militarism.  To  the  very  last, 
namely,  until  his  departure  in  September,  1918,  before 


164         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

the  British  advance,  Mr.  Schoemann  lived  in  most  cor- 
dial relations  with  the  Anglo- American  community  of 
Beirut.  Indeed,  the  American  Press  owes  it  to  him 
that  it  was  able  after  the  breaking  of  relations  to  con- 
tinue certain  of  its  payments  under  Azmi's  very  eye. 
It  was  only  Mr.  Schoemann's  willingness  to  cooperate 
in  these  relief -payments  to  Syrians  which  prevented  a 
complete  cessation  of  this  line  of  work,  and  a  conse- 
quent increased  mortality  in  Syria  during  the  winter 
of  1917-18. 

At  the  moment  of  the  rupture,  there  were  many  lists 
of  Syrian  remittances  already  in  the  Press  in  the 
course  of  preparation  for  payment.  When  the  Press 
was  closed,  there  was  no  way  in  which  to  effect  the 
delivery  of  the  designated  amounts;  and  daily  the 
policemen  at  the  gate  turned  away  scores  of  people 
who  had  already  been  instructed  to  call  for  their 
money.  It  seemed  wicked  to  consider  returning  these 
amounts  to  New  York  with  the  bare  statement  that  it 
was  no  longer  possible  to  continue  this  relief-work. 
It  would  have  been  like  snatching  a  loaf  of  bread  from 
a  starving  man  whose  fingers  had  already  closed  upon 
it.  Consequently,  Mr.  Dana  arranged  to  have  these 
payments  made  at  the  Deutsche  Paldstina  Bank  as 
though  they  were  a  part  of  the  Bank's  own  transac- 
tions. All  during  the  summer  of  19  lY  the  remittances 
to  Syrians  were  continued  by  this  method,  but  the 
necessary  funds  were  raised  by  the  Press  through  the 
sale  of  checks  on  its  New  York  bankers,  a  risky 
method,  since  a  Turkish  military  restriction  forbade 
the  negotiation  of  foreign  checks.    These,  however, 


America's  Entrance  Into  the  War  165 

were  antedated,  and  therefore,  bearing  no  evidence 
that  they  were  not  issued  previously  to  the  publication 
of  the  ban,  could  be  circulated  v^rithout  any  legal 
penalty. 

The  experience  of  the  American  Press  after  the 
breaking  of  relations  may  be  regarded  as  fairly  typical. 
The  American  Mission  representatives  did  not  suffer 
any  greater  inconveniences,  although  they  needed  to  be 
constantly  on  the  alert  to  save  their  property  from  the 
rapacious  Turks.  The  American  Mission  Hospital  in 
Tripoli,  and  the  private  residence  of  William  S.  Nelson 
in  Homs  were  the  only  American  properties  actually 
seized,  and  these  were  not  taken  until  several  months 
after  the  breaking  of  relations. 

The  Syrian  Protestant  College  fared  no  worse,  al- 
though it  was  known  that  the  Germans  were  doing 
their  utmost  to  use  the  Turks  as  their  catspaw  in  ap- 
propriating this  most  desirable  site  in  Beirut.  A  Ger- 
man meteorologist  actually  went  up  to  the  College  and 
announced  his  intention  of  taking  charge  of  the  ob- 
servatory, and  settling  his  own  family  in  one  of  the 
faculty  homes.  It  was  largely  due  to  the  enmity  be- 
tween Jemal  Pasha  and  the  Germans  that  the  College 
was  allowed  to  continue.  Had  Jemal  Pasha  himself 
wished  the  premises,  he  would  not  have  delayed  an 
instant  in  seizing  them,  but  he  preferred  to  leave  the 
Americans  in  possession,  if  by  so  doing  he  could  spite 
the  Germans.  It  is  known,  however,  that  Jemal  had 
promised  a  special  favourite  of  his,  one  Hallide 
Hanum,  a  Turkish  Mme.  de  Stael,  that,  when  he  was 
ready  to  turn  the  Americans  out,  he  would  make  her 


l66  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

directress  of  education  in  Syria,  and  give  her  the  Col- 
lege site  into  the  bargain.  The  time  for  this  move 
not  being  ripe,  however,  he  was  pleased  to  play  the 
part  of  College  patron,  and  even  assisted  in  securing 
supplies  of  foodstuffs  during  two  years  when  the  in- 
stitution would  otherwise  have  had  to  choose  between 
closing  or  assuming  an  enormous  financial  obligation. 


XI 

HYSTERICAL  AND  HISTORICAL 
EXCITEMENTS 

LIFE  for  foreigners  behind  the  curtain  in  Syria 
was  never  free  from  strain.  They  would  be 
ashamed  to  refer  to  the  lack  of  customary 
luxuries  as  a  hardship,  for  in  that  respect  they  were 
no  worse  off  than  every  one  else  throughout  the  world. 
Their  sympathies  were  constantly  harrowed  by  the 
sufferings  of  the  Syrians,  but  there  was  no  country  in 
Europe  where  they  could  have  escaped  such  vicarious 
pain.  The  whole  atmosphere  was  charged  with  ex- 
citement. There  was  an  unbroken  chain  of  events 
which  served  to  keep  the  nervous  in  a  ferment  of  un- 
rest. Some  of  these  occurrences  stirred  the  Ottoman 
population,  and  through  them  acted  on  the  foreigners, 
while  others  concerned  only  the  foreigners  themselves. 
Even  if  there  were  a  lull  for  about  two  weeks,  the 
monotony  was  sure  to  be  broken,  and  it  seemed  as 
though  nearly  every  six  months  something  really 
momentous  occurred.  We  became  accustomed  to  the 
state  of  unrest,  and  those  who  were  great-minded 
learned  to  live  calmly,  and  without  undue  anxiety  for 
the  future. 

Those  were  days  which  tried  the  souls  of  men.    Each 
was  thrown  back  upon  himself,  and  many  a  philoso- 

167 


l68         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

pher,  or  a  Christian,  was  forced  to  redetermine  just 
how  much  his  beliefs  were  really  worth.  Did  he  have 
faith?  If  so,  was  it  strong  enough  to  fortify  him  in 
such  trials?  Did  he  truly  believe  that  he  was  "  bigger 
than  anything  which  could  happen  "  to  him,  and  that 
he  need  concern  himself  with  only  one  day  at  a  time? 
or  was  his  creed  merely  a  jumble  of  meaningless 
phrases  which  proved  of  no  value  in  the  face  of  a  real 
crisis  ? 

The  problems  of  those  days  were  not  the  phantoms 
of  hysteria  which  could  be  routed  by  strength  of  will. 
They  were  not  passing  anxieties,  or  inconsequential 
perplexities,  but  were  the  very  problems  of  life  and 
death.  Some  one  has  compared  our  predicament  to 
that  of  a  band  of  miners  trapped  in  a  subterranean 
clamber  with  every  exit  blocked.  In  such  a  catas- 
trophe there  is  nothing  that  the  victims  can  do  to  save 
themselves.  They  must  wait  for  rescue  from  without ; 
and  they  know  to  a  certainty  that,  if  help  is  long- 
delayed,  it  will  come  too  late. 

As  the  years  of  the  war  dragged  out,  the  problems 
which  confronted  us  grew  increasingly  grave.  We 
faced  our  situation  humorously  at  the  beginning,  in 
the  confidence  that  such  abnormal  conditions  could  not 
continue  many  months.  We  branded  Kitchener,  with 
his  three-year  plans,  as  a  pessimist  of  the  darkest  dye, 
and  we  felt  that  we  were  remarkably  forehanded  if  we 
bought  anything  with  an  eye  to  the  future.  Theoretic- 
ally we  all  believed  in  preparedness,  but  no  one  had 
any  idea  what  to  prepare  for.  The  war  had  no 
parallel  in  our  previous  experience.    The  longest  night 


Hysterical  and  Historical  Excitements      169 

must  end,  and  the  sleepless  watcher  welcomes  each 
passing  hour  in  the  knowledge  that  it  brings  the  dawn 
just  so  much  nearer.  But  the  continued  duration  of 
the  war  brought  no  promise  of  its  conclusion.  "  It 
might  be  for  years;  and  it  might  be  forever."  We 
knew  only  that,  if  we  hoped  to  endure  to  the  end,  we 
must  provide  for  years  ahead.  My  uncle's  advice  to 
us  sounded  like  the  Chess  Queen's  promise  to  Alice  of 
"  jam  to-morrow  " — a  to-morrow  which  was  always 
one  day  ahead.  "  Buy  for  three  years,"  he  told  my 
aunt  and  me,  and  he  repeated  the  advice  when  the  war 
was  three  years  old.  It  was  all  very  well  to  say  that, 
but  the  question  was:  How  much  did  one  really  need 
of  everything?  We  had  never  bought  in  quantity  be- 
fore. Those  of  us  who  had  always  made  retail  pur- 
chases according  to  immediate  need  had  no  idea  how 
many  pairs  of  stockings,  how  many  handkerchiefs, 
how  much  soap,  tooth-paste,  or  writing  paper  we  used 
in  a  year.  Even  those  who  thought  that  they  were 
able  to  estimate  fairly  accurately  failed  to  reckon  on 
the  inferiority  of  wartime  articles.  Where  a  tooth- 
brush had  lasted  two  months  before,  it  might  not  stand 
one  month's  service  now.  How  many  American 
housekeepers  before  the  war  knew  how  many  gallons 
of  molasses  they  would  use  annually,  if  there  were  no 
sugar;  how  many  quarts  of  dried  beans;  how  much 
cooking  fat;  how  much  baking-powder?  And  yet 
housekeepers  in  Syria  had  to  learn  these  things  by 
bitter  experience. 

The  first  flurry  after  the  outbreak  of  the  war  was 
financial.     The  Anglo-American  community  felt  the 


170  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

pinch  almost  as  acutely  as  the  Syrians,  for  few  of 
them  had  ever  before  experienced  such  a  sudden 
cessation  of  income,  and  they  simply  could  not  com- 
prehend it.  They  had  money  in  the  bank.  Why 
could  they  not  draw  it  as  usual?  Scenes  which  oc- 
curred in  the  offices  of  the  College  and  the  Mission 
Treasurers  were  both  pathetic  and  ludicrous,  and 
members  of  the  American  community  begged,  literally 
begged,  in  vain  for  a  pound  or  two.  The  shortage 
occurred  also  at  a  particularly  awkward  time,  in  Au- 
gust and  September,  when  most  people  wished  to  buy 
supplies  for  the  winter.  This  year,  in  view  of  war 
uncertainties,  every  one  was  especially  desirous  of  lay- 
ing in  an  ample  stock  of  provisions. 

The  acute  financial  shortage  lasted  only  a  few 
weeks,  but  during  the  whole  of  the  conflict  we  were 
not  entirely  free  from  distress  in  this  regard.  Most 
families  felt  the  necessity  of  securing  and  concealing, 
with  great  difficulty,  a  little  gold  to  use  in  any  emer- 
gency, such  as  a  complete  collapse  of  the  paper-cur- 
rency, deportation,  or  an  enemy  occupation.  During 
the  second  year  of  the  war,  when  gold  was  outlawed 
and  Turkish  paper  substituted,  prices  took  a  sudden 
flight.  They  had  been  steadily  increasing  ever  since 
the  outbreak  of  hostilities,  but  with  the  introduction 
of  paper-currency  their  rise  was  phenomenal  and 
wholly  disproportionate.  The  purchasing  value  of 
Turkish  paper  dropped  as  low  as  one-sixth  that  of 
actual  coin,  or  "  hard  "  money.  This,  coupled  with 
the  rise  in  prices,  made  living  expenses  enormous,  and 
it  took  no  little  courage  to  face  the  steadily  increasing 


Hysterical  and  Historical  Excitements      171 

figures  in  the  account-books.  Of  course,  this  finan- 
cial strain  was  not  peculiar  to  Syria,  but  the  distinctive 
features  here  were  four:  the  popular  lack  of  faith  in 
the  Ottoman  paper-currency  issues,  the  inability  of  the 
Government  to  cope  with  speculation  in  currency 
values,  government  connivance  at  the  cornering  of 
necessary  foodstuffs,  and  the  subsequent  famine  prices 
of  certain  necessities.  For  those  who  care  to  read 
them  we  have  appended  at  the  end  of  the  book  a  few 
figures  illustrating  the  almost  incredible  rise  in  prices. 

Even  before  the  Entente  Powers  broke  relations 
with  Turkey,  we  felt  the  first  slight  results  of  the 
combat.  A  German  ship,  the  Peter  Rikmers,  carry- 
ing ammunition,  rubber,  and  other  miscellaneous 
freight,  sought  refuge  in  the  port  of  Beirut.  Her 
cargo  was  unloaded  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  not  a 
day  too  soon,  for  a  Russian  cruiser  came  strolling 
along  the  coast,  caught  the  Peter  Rikmers  as  she  was 
trying  to  escape  from  the  harbour,  and  sank  her  then 
and  there.  Not  many  days  later  the  same  cruiser 
carried  off  from  the  harbour  a  small  coast  steamer,  and 
a  launch  called  La  Syrie.  The  ownership  of  the  latter 
was  American,  but  it  was  apparent  that  the  Russians 
supposed  it  to  belong  to  a  Turkish  subject  who  might 
use  it  in  naval  warfare  against  the  Entente.  After 
these  incidents  the  local  authorities  scuttled  all  small 
craft  along  the  coast  for  two  reasons:  to  spite  the 
enemy,  and  to  remove  temptation  from  any  Ottoman 
subjects  who  might  so  far  shirk  their  patriotic  duties 
as  to  try  to  escape  by  sea.  ^ 

Within  a  few  months  after  the  beginning  of  the  war. 


172         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  SyrisT 

the  Turkish  campaign  against  Egypt  was  in  progress, 
and  later  the  British  counter-Ccimpaign  against  Pales- 
tine. We  experienced  practically  nothing  in  the  way 
of  actual  warfare,  but  we  were  reminded  of  military 
events  in  numerous  amusing  and  inconvenient  ways. 
The  Government  commandeered  all  the  large  bags  that 
it  could  lay  hands  on,  and  even  assessed  every  Otto- 
man household  with  a  specified  number.  In  order  to 
comply  with  this  military  requisition  and  to  avoid 
trouble  people  were  forced  to  use  their  window-cur- 
tains, their  couch-covers  and  even  their  extra  clothing 
to  make  bags.  It  was  a  fortunate  thing  for  the  coun- 
try that  the  Government  was  satisfied  with  empty  bags  I 
The  Turks  had  had  an  inspiration.  They  were  going 
to  use  sandbags  in  the  Egyptian  campaign.  They  also 
appropriated  for  army  use  another  very  important 
household  article,  the  indispensable  oil-tin ;  and  in  time 
these  empty  cans,  because  of  their  scarcity,  were  valued 
at  more  than  their  original  pre-war  cost  when  filled 
with  the  best  Standard  Oil ! 

Visitations  from  enemy  warships  were  fairly  fre- 
quent during  the  first  part  of  the  war  and,  like  the 
later  and  less  frequent  visits,  were  sometimes  accom- 
panied with  excitements.  It  was  a  popular  fallacy  to 
expect  an  attack  from  the  coast  and  a  bombardment 
of  Beirut,  although  it  was  technically  an  unfortified 
town.  There  were  lively  recollections  of  what  was 
called  "the  Italian  bombardment  of  1911,"  and  the 
psychological  effect  of  the  appearance  of  a  cruiser  on 
the  horizon  was  amusing  to  watch.  Naturally  the  un- 
educated people,  especially  the  Moslems,  supposed  that 


Hysterical  and  Historical  Excitements      173 

an  English  or  a  French  attacking  force  would  conduct 
itself  just  as  victorious  Turks  would  do;  and  they 
imagined  that  the  entry  of  the  enemy  would  be  at- 
tended with  violence,  massacre  and  bondage.  Further- 
more, the  attitude  of  the  Turkish  garrison  in  Beirut 
did  not  tend  to  inspire  confidence  either  in  the  conduct 
of  the  enemy,  or  of  their  own  prowess.  Most  of  these 
troops  were  quartered  in  the  barracks,  a  large  building 
on  a  hill  near  the  American  compound,  but  they  had 
also  a  good  hiding-place  in  a  pine-grove  at  the  edge 
of  the  city.  Like  the  famous  "  King  of  France,  who 
had  ten  thousand  men;  he  marched  them  up  the  hill, 
and  marched  them  down  again,"  the  officers  in  charge 
of  these  Turkish  soldiers  always  gave  them  "move- 
ment orders  "  whenever  a  cruiser  was  sighted ;  and 
they  were  hurried,  bag  and  baggage,  from  the  barracks 
into  their  place  of  concealment  and  safety  outside  of 
the  town.  During  some  weeks  they  were  kept  very 
busy  moving  back  and  forth. 

Not  only  did  the  troops  occupy  themselves  with  hid- 
ing whenever  a  cruiser  appeared,  but  many  of  the 
civil  population  made  preparations  for  a  hasty  de- 
parture. It  was  not  an  uncommon  sight  to  see  porters 
hurrying  through  the  streets  with  bed-bundles,  or  even 
less  portable  articles  such  as  wardrobes,  and  large 
mirrors.  A  goodly  number  of  people,  especially  Mos- 
lems, left  Beirut  for  Damascus,  which,  being  well  in 
the  interior,  was  generally  considered  a  safer  place. 
Some  of  these  emigrants  returned  after  the  first  ex- 
citement and  worry  were  past,  but  many  remained 
throughout  the  war.     Such  was  the  popular  alarm  at 


174         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

anything  which  in  the  least  resembled  a  warship  that  on 
one  occasion  the  Collier  Vulcan  that  came  with  coal 
for  the  U.  S.  S.  North  Carolina  caused  great  con- 
sternation. The  Vulcan  presented  an  array  of  der- 
ricks which  was  most  alarming  and  unusual.  We 
were  just  returning  from  an  afternoon  drive  when 
this  formidable  craft  arrived,  and  our  coachman  sug- 
gested the  advisability  of  our  at  once  fleeing  the  city. 
I  can  still  see  the  relief  in  his  face  when  we  explained 
that  it  was  merely  an  American  ship  bringing  coal  for 
the  cruiser. 

It  was  not  uncommon  for  the  visiting  war-craft  to 
deliver  messages  whose  purport  was  either  published 
or  leaked  out.  On  one  occasion  the  Beirut  authorities 
were  reminded  that  any  attempt  to  build  trenches  or 
otherwise  fortify  the  town  would  open  the  door  to 
enemy  attacks.  In  spite  of  this,  trenches  were  dug  all 
along  the  sea  road,  guns  were  placed  in  a  monastery  on 
the  sands  which  commanded  the  only  landing  beach 
near  the  city,  and  the  hills  back  of  Beirut  were  trenched, 
covered  with  barbed  wire  entanglements,  and  equipped 
with  gun  emplacements.  For  a  long  time  the  Entente 
cruisers  limited  their  action  to  sinking  small  sailing 
craft  which,  though  warned  against  so  doing,  were 
smuggling  wheat  from  one  port  to  another  along  the 
coast.  Another  not  unusual  proceeding  was  for  the 
French  ships  to  attempt  the  destruction  of  important 
bridges  on  the  highway  along  the  sea.  The  one  near 
Tripoli  which  carried  the  Tripoli-Homs  railroad  was 
an  especial  object  of  attack.  The  Turks  retaliated  for 
these  hostile  acts  by  erasing  the  French  inscription  at 


Hysterical  and  Historical  Excitements      175 

the  entrance  of  the  Dog  River  Pass  which  com- 
memorated the  triumph  of  the  army  of  Napoleon  III. 
These  petty  bombardments  and  spasmodic  demonstra- 
tions did  not  accomplish  much  more  than  to  keep  the 
Turkish  forces  in  northern  Syria  and  the  Syrian 
populace  in  a  constant  state  of  perturbation.  Even 
excitement  palls  eventually,  however,  and  the  country 
became  so  habituated  to  the  existing  state  of  affairs 
that  people  almost  gave  up  hoping  for  a  real  occupa- 
tion. 

When  German  submarines  began?  to  use  various 
points  on  the  Syrian  coast  as  their  bases,  the  vigilance 
of  the  coast-patrol  was  redoubled.  Then  we  saw  fewer 
large  ships  and  more  submarine  chasers.  These  made 
constant  calls  on  Juneh,  a  small  town  northeast  of 
Beirut,  which  was  known  to  contain  a  good  deal  of 
petroleum.  A  Russian  cruiser  had,  earlier  in  the  war, 
destroyed  the  Standard  Oil  depot  there,  but  it  was  be- 
lieved apparently  that  there  were  other  petroleum 
stores  in  the  town.  We  watched  several  spectacular 
bombardments  of  this  little  place. 

One  day  a  trawler  came  hurrying  along  as  though 
seeking  for  something  near  Beirut.  A  German  sub- 
marine was  then  in  port,  and  some  of  her  crew  were 
on  shore.  Without  waiting  for  these  men,  she  dived. 
The  trawler,  however,  feigned  ignorance  of  her  pres- 
ence, and  went  on  south  where  she  gave  information 
to  a  British  destroyer.  That  night  the  submarine  came 
back  to  get  the  rest  of  her  crew  and  more  supplies. 
Early  the  next  morning,  Sunday,  we  were  startled  by 
sounds  of  heavy  firing  near  the  port,  and  presently  a 


176         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

shrieking  shell  passed  fairly  low  over  our  house. 
Two  more  shells  followed,  and  more  sounds  of  firing 
at  the  port.  The  British  destroyer  had  arrived  bright 
and  early  in  hopes  of  surprising  the  submarine.  She 
passed  by  the  harbour  entrance  and  headed  toward 
Juneh,  but  suddenly  turned  and  boldly  steamed 
straight  into  the  port  which  was  supposed  to  be 
heavily  mined.  The  submarine  was  not  quick  enough 
to  escape  and  was  wounded,  although  it  was  impos- 
sible at  the  time  to  tell  how  seriously.  When  in  her 
course  around  the  harbour  the  destroyer  came  near  the 
shore,  Turkish  soldiers  on  guard  at  the  Ottoman  and 
German  banks  tried  a  little  sharp-shooting  at  the  men 
on  her  deck.  Her  reply  was  several  shells  fired  over 
the  city  as  a  warning  to  the  inhabitants  to  keep  under 
cover,  and  then  she  turned  her  guns  on  the  two  banks 
which  quartered  these  rash  soldiers.  Banking  busi- 
ness in  Beirut  was  suspended  for  the  next  ten  days, 
while  idle  stone-masons  and  plasterers  enjoyed  an  un- 
usual run  of  business.  After  having  settled  her  score, 
the  destroyer  departed,  apparently  satisfied  with  her 
morning's  work.  A  few  days  later  we  heard  from  a 
reliable  source  that  a  local  photographer  had  been 
asked  to  photograph  for  identification  the  bodies  of 
several  German  submarine  sailors  washed  ashore  near 
the  city. 

I  doubt  whether  such  events  caused  as  much  stir  as 
the  terrible  distant  naval  battle  which  some  of  our 
friends  once  viewed  from  the  mountains.  It  was 
about  sunset  and  a  dozen  or  more  ships  were  seen  in 
deadly  combat  off  toward  the  dim  horizon  in  the  west. 


Hysterical  and  Historical  Excitements      177 

The  firing  of  the  heavy  giins  could  be  heard  distinctly. 
Skeptics  insisted  that  it  was  all  imagination,  but  the 
witnesses  would  not  be  convinced.  Surely  they  had 
lived  in  Syria  too  long  to  mistake  the  combination  of 
a  native  wedding,  celebrated  by  rifle-fire,  and  the  fanci- 
ful shapes  of  evening  clouds  at  sunset  for  a  naval 
battle! 

It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  many  who  lived  in  Syria 
during  the  war  were  upset  merely  because  they  let 
their  imaginations  run  away  with  them.  Most  of 
these  argued  that  there  could  be  no  smoke  without 
fire,  and  that  there  must  be  some  foundation  for  cer- 
tain persistently  recurring  reports.  One  of  these  was 
that  Beirut,  as  well  as  other  coast  cities,  might  be 
evacuated,  or  at  least  that  the  foreign  residents  might 
be  required  at  very  short  notice  to  move  away  from  the 
seaboard.  While  there  seemed  little  likelihood  that 
this  would  really  happen,  one  could  scarcely  avoid 
giving  the  matter  some  slight  consideration  as  a  pos- 
sibility. The  evacuation  scare  reached  its  height  in 
the  summer  of  1917,  after  we  received  in  Beirut  vari- 
ous tales  of  the  occurrences  in  Jaffa  where  the  larger 
part  of  the  population  was  ruthlessly  harried  out  with- 
out conveyance,  and  was  driven  into  the  interior.  As 
the  lack  of  vehicles  was  as  serious  in  Beirut  as  at 
Jaffa,  I  know  one  American  family  which  made  a  little 
push-cart,  ostensibly  for  use  in  transporting  its  goods 
to  the  mountains,  which  also  would  save  the  children 
many  weary  steps  in  case  they  were  expelled  from  the 
city  and  had  to  travel  on  foot. 

Another  fear  which  caused  perhaps  more  uneasi- 


178         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

ness  than  evacuation,  was  deportation.  Many  of  us 
had  this  brought  very  near  home  by  the  exile  of  a  num- 
ber of  our  belligerent  and  Syrian  friends.  With  such 
incidents  constantly  occurring,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  some  families  kept  bags  always  ready,  packed 
with  the  necessities  for  a  journey;  although  it  must  be 
admitted  that,  except  in  a  very  few  instances,  people 
who  were  ordered  to  leave  had  plenty  of  time  to  gather 
together  whatever  they  needed  for  their  change  of  resi- 
dence. After  the  deportation  of  Dr.  Stewart  of 
Latakia,  Dr.  Nelson  of  Tripoli,  and  Mr.  Dana  of 
Beirut  had  proved  conclusively  that  not  even  Amer- 
icans were  exempt  from  this  form  of  persecution, 
those  who  believed  in  preparedness  felt  themselves 
wholly  in  the  right.  This  explains  and  largely  justi- 
fies certain  suggestions  made  by  the  Syrian  Protestant 
College  to  its  American  faculty  in  December,  1917. 
Besides  giving  numerous  useful  hints  as  to  the  settle- 
ment of  any  business  matters,  destruction  of  papers, 
disposal  of  valuables  in  case  of  need,  and  as  to  cloth- 
ing, food  and  medicines  for  a  journey,  the  list  sug- 
gested also  having  handy  Turkish-French  visiting 
cards  and  a  copy  of  Jemal  Pasha's  speech  in  which  he 
claimed  to  be  friendly  to  the  College.  The  contents 
of  the  list  of  suggestions  is  of  less  importance,  how- 
ever, than  the  fact  of  its  existence,  which  was  illus- 
trative of  what  one  might  call  the  state  of  mind  of  the 
times. 

It  would  be  trite  to  suggest  that  Syria  was  scourged 
by  the  "  Four  Horsemen  of  the  Apocalypse."  That 
simile  has  already  been  overworked  in  other  connec- 


Hysterical  and  Historical  Excitements      179 

tions.  But  we  were  not  the  only  community  which 
found  fresh  interest  in  our  Bibles,  as  we  recognized  the 
striking  similarity  between  the  conditions  in  Biblical 
days,  and  those  of  our  own  war  period.  For  a  time 
we  were  able  to  describe  our  situation  to  friends  at 
home  by  referring  them  to  certain  Scriptural  passages, 
but  eventually  this  device  was  discovered  in  the  post 
office.  The  Mohammedan  censor,  in  order  to  hold  his 
job,  became  a  devout  student  of  the  Bible,  and  he 
waged  such  war  against  Bible  allusions  that  he  even 
held  up  letters  which  suggested  necessary  corrections 
in  the  proof  of  the  new  Arabic  Reference  Bible. 

We  used  our  concordances  to  good  advantage  when 
we  wished  to  describe  the  terrible  plague  of  locusts 
which  swept  over  the  land  in  1915.  The  description 
of  Pharaoh's  seventh  scourge  might  have  been  written 
in  April,  1915:  "And  when  it  was  morning,  the  east 
wind  brought  the  locusts.  And  the  locusts  went  up  all 
over  the  land,  .  .  .  and  rested  in  all  the  coasts ;  .  .  . 
very  grievous  were  they  .  .  .  for  they  covered  the 
face  of  the  whole  earth,  so  that  the  land  was  darkened ; 
and  they  did  eat  every  herb  of  the  land,  and  all  the 
fruit  of  the  trees ;  .  .  .  and  there  remained  not  any 
green  thing  in  the  trees,  or  in  the  herbs  of  the  field 
through  all  the  land    .    .    ."     (Ex.10.) 

I  was  driving  down  to  Sidon  when  the  first  swarm 
of  locusts  appeared,  and  the  sight  was  far  more  awful 
and  impressive  in  the  open  country  with  its  free  sweep 
of  sky  than  it  was  in  the  city.  The  sun  was  suddenly 
darkened,  and  looking  up  we  saw  that  the  air  was  full 
of  whirling  winged  forms.     The  effect  was  strikingly 


i8o  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

similar  to  a  driving  snow-storm,  only  in  this  case  the 
mammoth  flakes  were  yellow  and  black.  They  settled 
as  softly  as  snow  on  field  and  tree,  and  when  they 
again  took  flight  they  left  the  land  utterly  devastated. 
They  had  devoured  every  leaf  and  flower  and  fruit. 
In  some  cases  they  had  even  stripped  off  the  bark. 
The  ground  where  they  had  rested  was  bare  of  every 
living  plant.  More  awful  still,  they  were  carnivorous. 
There  were  numerous  instances  where  mothers  left 
their  little  children  alone  at  home  while  they  went  to 
the  fields,  and  returning  found  little  more  than  the 
skeletons,  clothing  and  flesh  having  been  devoured  by 
these  horrible  creatures.  The  swarm  would  settle  for 
several  days  in  a  locality,  and  then  sweep  on  leaving 
in  its  wake  ruin  and  destruction.  Five  or  six  times 
during  that  summer  fresh  hordes  descended  upon  us. 
Always  the  first  warning  of  their  approach  was  the 
din  of  tin  pans,  beaten  by  anxious  land-owners  in  the 
vain  hope  of  frightening  away  the  insects  before  they 
settled.  Not  only  did  they  destroy  that  year's  crops, 
but  in  many  localities  they  permanently  injured  the 
trees  by  their  repeated  onslaughts.  Such  a  plague  had 
not  been  seen  in  Syria  for  more  than  forty  years ;  and, 
coming  as  it  did  on  top  of  all  the  hardships  of  war- 
time, it  convinced  the  people  of  the  wrath  of  the  Lord. 
Man  had  done  his  worst  for  the  country,  and  now 
nature  had  turned  cruel. 

The  one  thing  above  all  others  which  most 
piqued  the  Turks  was  the  realization  that  every- 
thing which  went  on  in  the  country  was  known 
abroad  as  soon  as  it  happened.     One  morning  in 


Hysterical  and  Historical  Excitements      i8l 

August,  1915,  fourteen  political  offenders  were  hanged 
in  Beirut,  and  the  Alexandria  and  Paris  papers 
of  that  same  day  published  the  names  of  those  ex- 
ecuted. This  is  only  one  striking  instance  of  the  ef- 
fectiveness of  the  Entente  intelligence  service.  There 
was  quite  evidently  constant  signalling  from  the  moun- 
tains to  cruisers  out  at  sea,  and  the  Turks  were  at 
great  pains  to  discover  a  wireless  station  which  some- 
how was  keeping  the  enemy  posted.  The  College  was 
subject  to  annoyance  on  several  occasions  while  search 
was  made  for  an  imaginary  wireless  outfit.  When  I 
recollect  two  mere  boys  who  were  held  for  months  in 
the  military  prison  in  Constantinople  on  account  of  a 
toy  wireless,  pronounced  by  German  experts  quite  un- 
usable, it  makes  me-  shudder  to  think  what  misinter- 
pretation might  have  been  put  on  the  most  innocuous 
piece  of  laboratory  apparatus  in  the  College.  Even 
the  observatory  dome  was  never  opened  during  the 
war  lest  the  astronomer  be  accused  of  communicating 
with  the  enemy.  On  one  occasion  one  of  the  College 
community  was  requested  to  take  down  the  signals 
flying  in  her  yard  in  sight  of  the  sea.  In  vain  she 
protested  it  was  merely  the  usual  weekly  wash.  No, 
they  were  signals  to  the  enemy's  ships,  and  down  they 
must  come! 

Another  cause  of  worry  to  the  local  government  was 
lights  in  the  houses.  The  majority  of  the  Beirut 
houses  have  high  arched  windows  opening  on  balconies 
facing  the  sea.  Foreign  residents  especially  were  re- 
quired to  darken  their  windows  when  the  lights  were 
on.     This  was  no  small  item  of  expense  when  the 


l82         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

size  of  the  windows  was  only  equalled  by  the  cost  of 
the  cloth  necessary  to  cover  them.  On  several  occa- 
sions a  policeman  came  to  request  us  to  darken  one  of 
our  kitchen  windows  which  we  found  especially  hard 
to  reach.  Our  domestic  would  request  the  policeman 
to  close  it  for  us  from  outside  by  the  delicate  manipula- 
tion of  a  broom  handle,  and  after  a  few  calls  with 
similar  results  the  policeman  found  it  more  convenient 
to  overlook  that  lighted  square. 

It  was  just  like  the  Turks,  however,  to  fret  over 
such  unimportant  matters  and  to  overlook  the  truly 
significant  things  that  were  going  on  under  their  very 
eyes.  Spies  were  constantly  coming  and  going  be- 
tween Syria  and  Egypt,  and  it  is  surprising  how  many 
people  in  Syria  were  in  their  confidence.  Fishermen 
along  the  coast  carried  on  a  lucrative,  if  somewhat 
risky,  trade  in  facilitating  escapes  by  taking  people  on 
dark  nights  out  to  patrolling  enemy  vessels.  One 
night  the  French  head  of  a  large  commercial  concern 
disappeared  with  his  entire  household,  including  the 
dog.  Their  unfinished  supper  was  left  on  the  table. 
No  one  knew  what  had  become  of  them,  but  the  in- 
stance conjured  up  visions  of  a  sudden  chance  to 
escape  on  a  French  cruiser.  Such  events  as  this  re- 
minded us  that  the  atmosphere  in  which  we  lived  did 
not  lack  melodramatic  features. 

There  were  times  when  some  of  us  almost  wished 
that  a  cruiser  would  call  with  orders  from  our  Gov- 
ernment to  whisk  us  off.  Travel  for  even  short  dis- 
tances was  made  as  difficult  as  possible.  One  could 
not  even  cross  the  Beirut  border  for  a  picnic  without 


Hysterical  and  Historical  Excitements      183 

giving  an  account  of  oneself.  The  Turk  was  always 
so  suspicious  that  he  made  himself  a  tremendous 
amount  of  unnecessary  trouble.  Frequently  travellers 
between  Beirut  Vilayet  and  Lebanon  were  subjected 
to  as  thorough  a  search  as  though  leaving  Constanti- 
nople for  Europe.  On  one  occasion  an  American  was 
detained  at  the  border  because  the  Turks  discovered 
among  his  papers  a  map  his  children  were  sending  to 
their  grandmother  in  town.  It  was  a  sketch  of  a 
favourite  swimming-hole,  but  even  such  fanciful  names 
as  "  Fairy  Dell  "  and  "  Giant  Cave  "  struck  the  Turks 
as  highly  suspicious.  The  Turk  certainly  does  not 
have  much  imagination ! 

In  order  to  go  to  the  mountains  for  the  summer  one 
had  to  have  a  vesika,  or  travel-permit,  besides  permis- 
sion to  transport  in  either  direction  foodstuffs  and  per- 
sonal belongings.  Any  one  not  fully  in  the  good 
graces  of  the  Government  had  to  wait  a  long  time  to 
obtain  his  papers.  Sometimes  the  ofBcials  saw  other 
possibilities  in  the  matter  of  vesikas,  as  when  in  1915 
the  Chief  of  Police,  Muhhedin  Bey,  intimated  to  Mr. 
Dana  that  he  might  have  his  permission  to  take  his 
family  to  the  mountains  if  he  would  pay  the  small  fee 
of  $1,000.  Needless  to  say,  we  stayed  in  Beirut  that 
summer!  By  the  following  year  Muhhedin  Bey  had 
removed  himself  as  an  obstacle  to  any  one's  obtaining 
a  travel  permit. 

If  the  Turks  would  only  apply  their  genius  in  proper 
directions  they  might  accomplish  wonders.  I  doubt 
whether  any  race  can  equal  them  in  malicious  in- 
genuity.   They  are  past  masters  at  devising  annoy-i 


184  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

ances,  and  no  ogre  ever  surpassed  a  Turk  in  the 
capacity  for  inventing  barbaric  forms  of  torture,  or  in 
enjoying  the  discomfort  of  his  victims.  In  May,  1915, 
the  Government  achieved  a  regular  tour  de  force  which 
resulted  in  the  arrest  of  practically  the  entire  Amer- 
ican Mission.  In  May  and  December  the  Mission  held 
in  Beirut  its  semi-annual  meetings.  It  was  a  custom 
of  many  years'  standing  and  the  Government  had  never 
thought  of  objecting  to  the  gathering  which  was  known 
to  concern  itself  solely  with  Mission  problems.  On 
this  occasion  the  meeting  was  held  in  the  accustomed 
place,  a  large  room  in  one  of  the  houses  in  the  Amer- 
ican Compound.  Suddenly  the  police  appeared  and 
arrested  the  whole  company.  When  the  elders  and 
dignitaries  of  the  Mission  were  haled  before  the 
Chief  of  Police,  they  were  told  that  they  had  been 
arrested  for  violating  a  law  which  the  Turks  meant 
soon  to  publish.  The  Americans  should  have  known 
that  very  shortly  any  kind  of  gathering  would  be 
illegal.  Of  course,  the  Government  had  no  case 
against  them,  but  it  succeeded  in  causing  much  incon- 
venience and  annoyance.  That  being  the  case,  the 
Turks  could  afford  to  be  magnanimous,  and  in  about 
two  hours  they  released  their  prisoners,  first  taking 
pains  to  escort  to  the  city  limits  all  the  out-of-town 
missionaries. 

A  little  piece  of  malice  like  this,  however,  generally 
cleared  the  atmosphere,  for  the  Turks  were  usually  so 
pleased  with  themselves  that  they  were  quite  genial 
for  some  time  afterwards. 

Jn  that  same  summer  of  1916  we  were  all  much  dis^ 


Hysterical  and  Historical  Excitements      185 

tressed  by  the  difficulties  which  befell  certain  Amer- 
icans who  had  come  down  from  Armenia.  Among 
others  who  had  come  to  Beirut  in  the  hope  of  leaving 
by  sea  were  Dr.  Floyd  Smith  and  his  family  from 
Diarbekr,  and  Mr.  Harrison  Maynard  and  his  family 
from  Bitlis.  Dr.  Smith  had  been  expelled  from 
Diarbekr  because  of  his  interest  in  the  Armenians,  and 
both  he  and  Mr.  Maynard  were  known  to  have  been 
witnesses  of  recent  Armenian  atrocities.  Both  were 
imprisoned  and  taken  before  the  *Aleih  Court  Martial 
for  trial.  Dr.  Smith's  trial  was  only  half  finished 
when  he  was  sent  down  to  Beirut  to  await  sentence. 
A  mistake  in  the  police  office  gave  him  a  loophole  for 
escape.  Within  an  hour  he  and  his  family  were  safe 
on  board  a  vessel  in  the  harbour,  while  the  Turks 
frantically  searched  for  their  lost  criminal.  It  must 
have  infuriated  them  that  within  a  few  months  Dr. 
Smith  was  back  in  Armenia,  behind  the  Russian  lines. 

Mr.  Maynard  was  detained  several  days  in  'Aleih 
and  probably  only  the  facts  that  the  American  cruiser 
Tennessee  delayed  sailing  three  days,  and  that  she  was 
known  to  be  waiting  for  him,  effected  his  acquittal  in 
time  for  him  to  board  the  ship. 

It  was  a  rather  homesick  day  for  some  of  us  when 
we  bade  farewell  to  the  Tennessee  as  she  steamed 
away  from  Beirut  with  her  long  home  pennant  stream- 
ing behind,  and  her  band  playing  "  Home,  Sweet 
Home."  It  seemed  the  last  chance  for  any  of  us  to 
leave  Syria,  save  by  the  dreaded  overland  trip  to  Con- 
stantinople. There  were  later  opportunities  to  leave 
by  cruiser,  but  most  of  these  were  limited  to  American 


1 86         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Jews,  although  there  were  other  Americans  who  were 
most  anxious  to  obtain  permission  to  go,  many  of 
whom  had  come  from  the  far  interior  with  the  hope  of 
finding  in  Beirut  some  opportunity  to  sail. 

The  worst  of  the  annual  typhus  epidemics  occurred 
in  the  winter  of  1916.  Not  only  was  the  death-rate 
highest  that  year,  but  the  disease  attacked  a  number  of 
our  best  Syrian  friends,  as  well  as  members  of  the 
American  community.  The  way  in  which  different 
persons  were  affected  by  the  fever  was  pathetically 
indicative  of  their  interests.  One  brave  little  nurse 
exclaimed:  "  I  am  glad  I  have  it,  for  now  I  can  nurse 
typhus  cases  without  further  fear,  and  with  knowledge 
of  the  disease  from  personal  experience."  Another 
sweet  lady  was  most  concerned  during  her  delirium 
concerning  the  poor  whom  she  had  been  visiting;  and 
because  she  was  under  the  delusion  that  she  had  robbed 
her  own  family  to  share  with  the  starving  Syrians. 
The  American  Vice-Consul  evidently  had  the  Jews  on 
his  mind.  He  was  terribly  distressed  because  he 
thought  that  he  had  allowed  some  of  them  to  leave  by 
cruiser  without  proper  passports,  and  the  nurse  would 
catch  him  getting  out  of  bed  to  write  telegrams  on  the 
subject  to  the  American  Consul  at  Alexandria.  While 
we  could  smile  at  such  vagaries  when  we  knew  the 
patients  were  on  the  road  to  recovery,  we  had  to  fight 
down  our  horror  of  the  disease ;  and  although  we  never 
let  the  idea  interfere  with  our  daily  pursuits,  we  often 
wondered:  who  next? 

No  survey  of  our  trials  during  the  war  would  be 
complete  without   some   reference   to   the   domestic 


Hysterical  and  Historical  Excitements      187 

problems.  As  elsewhere  in  the  world  these  played  a 
part  in  the  general  stress.  I  regret  to  say  that  before 
the  close  of  the  war  scarcely  any  gathering  of  women 
could  take  place  without  sooner  or  later  the  question 
of  food  becoming  the  uppermost  topic  in  the  conversa- 
tion. The  cost  of  living  and  the  food  question  were 
two  demons  always  lurking  in  the  background.  Dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1916  the  Government  set  a  limit  to 
the  quantity  of  supplies  that  one  might  have  on  hand. 
It  was  rumoured  that  houses  would  be  searched  and 
that  superfluous  stores  would  be  confiscated.  Such  a 
procedure  on  the  part  of  the  conscienceless  Turkish 
police  was  appalling.  Most  people  acted  on  faith  that 
this  was  merely  a  threat,  although  they  deemed  it  safer 
not  to  keep  all  their  provisions  in  one  place.  One 
American  lady  told  me  recently  of  her  dread  lest  her 
family  of  children  should  not  have  all  they  needed  to 
eat.  Late  one  night  she  hid  wheat  and  other  supplies 
in  an  ancient  Phoenician  well  which,  in  the  course  of 
some  repairs,  had  been  discovered  under  her  house, 
and  the  opening  of  which  had  been  thoughtfully 
camouflaged  in  case  of  future  need.  The  same  well 
was  used  to  conceal  some  family  silver,  glass  and  other 
valuables.  This  Is  only  one  of  many  cases  where  per- 
sonal property  was  hidden.  Syrians  gave  their  valu- 
ables into  the  hands  of  Americans,  and  Americans 
placed  theirs  in  the  care  of  Syrian  friends.  No  one 
could  judge  which  would  be  the  safer  place  in  the 
final  outcome.  Even  members  of  our  own  family 
concealed  some  things  in  our  attic  so  well  that  we  had 
difficulty  afterwards  in  finding  them ! 


l88         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

All  this  is  amusing  to  look  back  upon  after  a  lapse 
of  time  and  when  the  strain  is  past.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  we  were  not  nearly  so  uncomfortable  in  some  re- 
spects as  our  friends  in  America  imagined.  All 
through  the  whole  time  of  difficulty  there  was  among 
the  Americans  a  spirit  of  hopefulness  and  optimism  re- 
garding the  ultimate  course  of  events  which  mitigated 
every  passing  trouble. 


xn 

1917— THE  YEAR  OF  HORROR 

WE  have  previously  spoken  of  life  in  Turkey 
during  the  World-War  as  life  behind  a 
curtain,  but  it  would  really  be  more  ac- 
curate to  describe  it  as  life  in  a  house  of  many  cham- 
bers. We  lived  for  a  while  in  one  room;  and  when 
that  became  no  longer  habitable,  we  progressed  to 
another,  the  very  existence  of  which,  perhaps,  we  had 
not  suspected.  When  we  were  ejected  from  this  room 
and  the  door  closed  behind  us,  we  stood  for  a  moment 
bewildered  in  the  passageway;  and  then,  conquering 
the  fear  lest  we  might  be  entering  a  veritable  Blue- 
beard's chamber  of  horrors,  we  tried  another  closed 
portal;  and  if  it  yielded,  crossed  the  threshold.  This 
was  especially  true  in  the  matter  of  relief -work. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  the  Americans  in  Syria 
attempted  to  render  relief  through  the  tried  and  tested 
channels  of  the  Red  Cross  Society.  For  a  while  they 
were  successful,  but  at  the  end  of  a  year,  the  Beirut 
Government  forced  them  to  abandon  this  form  of 
activity ;  and  the  work,  in  a  slightly  modified  form,  was 
transferred  to  Lebanon.  When  the  Armenian  and 
Syrian  Relief  Committee  in  America  took  over  the 
financing  of  relief  in  this  portion  of  the  Near  East, 
and  the  Christmas  Ship  of  1916  was  expected,  the 

289 


190  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

entire  energies  of  the  Beirut  Relief  Committee  were 
concentrated  on  arranging  for  the  best  possible  dis- 
position of  this  precious  cargo.  The  definite  an- 
nouncement that  the  ship  had  been  deflected  preceded 
by  only  a  few  weeks  the  declaration  of  war  between 
the  United  States  and  Germany,  and  the  rupture  of 
America's  diplomatic  relations  with  Turkey.  The 
American  loss  of  neutral  status  provided  the  Ottoman 
Government  with  a  long-sought  excuse  for  definitely 
and  positively  prohibiting  any  foreign  interference  in 
internal  affairs,  even  in  connection  with  relief  matters. 
At  the  end  of  April,  1917,  when  relations  between 
America  and  Turkey  were  broken,  the  Beirut  Relief 
Committee  had  only  $140,000  in  its  treasury,  and  this 
sum  was  used  secretly  through  Syrian  agents.  When 
this  was  expended,  and  it  was  no  longer  possible,  on 
account  of  the  closing  of  mail  and  telegraphic  com- 
munications with  America,  to  secure  further  funds 
from  home  committees,  the  Beirut  Committee  dis- 
solved, and  thus  permanently  terminated  its  relief 
activities. 

The  only  remaining  source  of  income  from  the  out- 
side world  was,  therefore,  the  Syrian  remittances 
through  the  American  Mission  Press;  and  these  were 
continued  in  spite  of  government  opposition,  and  the 
avowed  determination  of  the  Ottoman  authorities  to 
deal  drastically  with  any  individual,  foreigner  or  na- 
tive, who  should  be  discovered  in  the  act  of  communi- 
cating with  the  enemies  of  the  Turkish  Government,  in 
which  category  the  United  States  was  now  included. 
The  charitable  organizations  of  America  were  not 


1917 — The  Year  of  Horror  191 

discouraged,  however,  in  their  eitorts  to  relieve  this 
afflicted  country,  and  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  For- 
eign Missions  arranged  with  the  Enemy  Trade  Board 
of  the  United  States  to  issue  Trade  Licenses  for  the 
amounts  available  for  Syria.  In  view  of  the  fact  that 
postal  communications  with  the  Ottoman  Empire  had 
been  completely  suspended,  the  State  Department 
agreed  to  forward  the  weekly  lists  from  the  New  York 
Treasurer  by  official  courier  from  Washington  to 
Switzerland  or  Stockholm,  and  thence  to  Constanti- 
nople. From  Constantinople  onward  the  lists  were 
concealed  between  packets  of  paper-money,  and  were 
mailed  as  such  to  Syria  in  sealed  and  insured  envelopes. 
It  took  some  months,  however,  to  evolve  this  system  of 
comm.unication ;  and  even  when  it  was  established, 
what  had  formerly  been  a  river  of  income  dwindled  to 
a  mere  trickle.  Delays  were  inevitable,  and  the  neces- 
sity for  absolute  disguise  of  the  source  of  these  re- 
mittances, combined  with  the  problem  of  securing 
cash,  made  this  work  both  dangerous  and  difficult.  It 
was,  nevertheless,  continued  without  interruption  up 
to  the  moment  of  the  British  occupation  of  the  coun- 
try in  the  autumn  of  1918,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  Mr. 
Dana,  who  had  originated  the  system,  was  deported, 
and  was  forced  to  leave  before  he  could  even  see  his 
successor  and  explain  to  him  certain  details  of  which 
no  one  but  himself  was  cognizant. 

When  the  Beirut  Relief  Committee  ceased  to  op- 
erate, the  American  Mission  determined  to  assume  full 
responsibility  for  the  continuance  of  the  relief-work 
thus  abandoned.     They  held  a  secret  meeting  at  one 


191         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

of  the  mountain  villages  in  a  region  where  so  many  of 
the  Americans  were  summering  that  a  gathering  of 
others  from  outlying  districts  would  pass  unnoticed  by 
the  Government.  In  that  meeting  they  voted  to  ex- 
pend the  sum  of$250,000  on  faith  that  when  communi- 
cations with  the  supporting  committees  should  eventu- 
ally be  reestablished,  the  Armenian  and  Syrian  Relief 
Committee  would  reimburse  the  Mission  Board  in  New 
York  for  the  amounts  advanced  by  the  Syria  Mission. 
In  lieu  of  positive  assurance  that  the  committees  at 
home  would  in  reality  make  good  such  disbursements, 
the  members  of  the  American  Mission  in  Syria  agreed 
to  assume  personal  and  individual  responsibility  to  the 
Mission  Board  in  America  for  this  advance  on  faith. 

When  the  Syria  Mission  learned  beyond  a  doubt  that 
the  C<Bsar  was  not  coming  to  the  coast  of  Syria,  they 
felt  convinced  that  the  cargo  would  be  sold,  and  the 
proceeds  of  the  sale  turned  back  to  the  home-com- 
mittee. It  was  imperative  to  obtain  from  America  as- 
surance that  these  funds  were  in  reality  held  there  at 
the  disposal  of  the  Syria  Committee.  If  that  proved 
to  be  the  case,  the  Mission  would  be  able  to  borrow 
money  locally  to  continue  the  work.  The  difficulty  of 
obtaining  such  information  was  due  to  the  hostility  of 
the  Turks  which  made  it  inadvisable  to  send  through 
t  regular  channels  any  written  message  giving  evidence 
of  the  continued  activity  of  Americans  along  relief 
lines.  The  cablegram  had  to  be  so  worded  that  if  in- 
tercepted en  route  it  would  not  be  comprehensible  to 
the  Turks.  A  fertile  brain,  therefore,  devised  the  fol- 
lowing cryptogram,  and  a  special  messenger  was  sent 


1 9 1 7 — ^^^  Year  of  Horror  193 

with  it  to  Holland:  "  Calpurnia*s  husband  (referring  to 
the  CcBsar)  unable  to  make  delivery.  Can  you  dupli- 
cate amount  your  cable  twenty  ($100,000),  enabling 
make  purchases  locally  pending  reaping  (Stop).  Re- 
ply, using  only  this  cable  number  (37)." 

The  scrap  of  paper  containing  the  precious  message 
on  which  depended  the  lives  of  so  many  thousands  in 
Syria  was  safely  smuggled  through  the  repeated  ex- 
aminations in  Turkey  to  which  every  traveller  was  sub- 
jected, through  Bulgaria,  Austria,  and  Germany;  but 
it  was  discovered  and  confiscated  on  the  German  border 
just  as  the  messenger  was  about  to  enter  Holland.  He 
had,  however,  memorized  the  words  of  the  cable  which 
he  dispatched  from  the  Hague.  In  five  weeks  the 
reply,  forwarded  through  Sweden,  reached  the  Treas- 
urer of  the  Syria  Mission  in  Beirut.  Just  the  two 
words,  "  Thirty-seven  granted,"  but  what  a  world  of 
hope  they  represented ! 

There  must  have  been  a  leak  en  route  somewhere, 
because,  three  weeks  after  the  departure  of  the  mes- 
senger and  only  a  short  time  before  the  arrival  of  the 
answer,  Mr.  Dana  was  arrested  and  taken  to  the 
police  station,  where  he  was  asked  who  "  Calpumia  " 
was,  and  what  was  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  reap- 
ing." His  reply  convinced  the  Turks  that  Calpurnia 
was  a  humble  person  pining  for  her  absent  husband, 
and  that  "reaping"  meant  only  a  certain  season  of 
the  year. 

Other  single  grants  for  relief  were  also  reported  by 
the  Mission  Board  in  New  York  in  cryptic  cable  mes- 
sages through   Switzerland  or   Stockholm.     One  of 


194  ^^^  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

them  read  "  Fifteen  thousand  merer  el  committee 
mercy/'  These  funds  were  administered  by  the  Treas- 
urer of  the  Syria  Mission,  and  represented  virtually 
a  continuance  of  the  former  Red  Cross  work. 

In  January,  1918,  when  Mr.  Dana  reached  Con- 
stantinople, he  discovered  that  the  Armenian  and 
Syrian  Relief  Committee  had  appropriated  an  amount 
of  $50,000  monthly,  beginning  on  July  1,  1917,  for  re- 
lief in  Syria,  part  of  which  was  available  in  Switzer- 
land. This  regular  allowance  was  continued  as  long 
as  the  war  lasted,  although  after  the  British  occupa- 
tion, first  the  Red  Cross,  and  then  the  American  Com- 
mittee for  Relief  in  the  Near  East  was  responsible  for 
the  amount. 

The  program  first  followed  in  distribution  was  that 
previously  instituted  by  the  Red  Cross,  and  accordingly 
appropriations  were  made  to  all  the  out-stations.  This 
was  in  response  to  the  appeals  of  individual  mission- 
aries from  villages  in  itinerating  districts,  or  of  resi- 
dent foreigners,  consular  officers,  etc.  The  burning 
desire  of  every  one  who  had  the  welfare  of  Syria  at 
heart  was  to  organize  a  big  relief-work  and  carry  it 
on  as  such;  but  the  hostility  of  the  Turks,  bent  on 
their  scheme  of  exterminating  the  Syrians,  made  this 
impossible.  Whatever  relief  was  given  by  the  Amer- 
icans themselves  had  to  be  done  under  the  guise  of 
carrying  on  their  regular  mission  work.  They  laid 
in  foodstuffs  for  relief  distribution  under  the  pretence 
of  buying  supplies  for  the  schools,  native  helpers,  and 
their  own  Mission  community.  Only  the  stupidity  of 
the  Turks  in  not  realizing  that  fifty  tons  of  wheat  was 


1917 — The  Year  of  Horror  195* 

a  superabundant  supply  for  fifty  or  one  hundred  chil- 
dren in  a  Mission  school  made  such  purchases  possible. 
Where  there  was  no  possible  cloak  of  mission  activity 
to  disguise  the  real  motive  of  relief,  it  was  impossible 
for  the  Americans  to  appear  in  connection  with  the 
work,  and  the  plan  adopted  was  to  place  sums  for  relief 
disbursement  in  the  hands  of  any  thoroughly  reliable 
person  who  was  in  a  position  to  render  aid  in  districts 
where  the  need  was  greatest,  and  where  there  was  no 
danger  of  overlapping.  These  agents  were  preferably 
Syrians,  but  in  some  cases  they  were  foreigners,  for 
example,  a  Swedish  lady  living  in  Lebanon,  and  a 
German  sister  of  charity. 

Special  and  definite  instructions  always  accompanied 
these  grants,  as  to  the  plan  of  relief  to  be  followed,  and 
the  classes  of  persons  to  be  helped  The  appropria- 
tions were  usually  delivered  monthly,  and  the  agent 
was  required  to  give  each  time  a  report  on  his  methods, 
the  classes  of  beneficiaries,  and  all  details  connected 
with  the  efificacy  of  the  assistance  rendered.  It  is  un- 
fortunate that  these  reports  were  necessarily  all  verbal, 
as  it  results  in  placing  the  full  burden  of  financial  re- 
sponsibility on  the  shoulders  of  one  man,  the  Mission 
Treasurer.  However,  the  risk  of  written  evidence  of 
relief  activities  was  so  great  that  no  one  would  have 
ventured  to  sign  his  name  to  a  statement  which,  if  it 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Turks,  would  incriminate  not 
only  himself,  but  the  Americans  from  whom  he  had 
received  the  funds,  and  the  Syrians  to  whom  he  had 
distributed  them. 

Such  assistance  as  has  just  been  described  usually 


196         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

took  the  form  of  supplying  destitute  families  with  a 
regular  allowance  either  of  funds  or  of  food,  accord- 
ing to  conditions  of  prices,  accessibility  of  food-supply, 
etc.  In  a  district  where  wheat  was  purchasable  in  the 
open  market  it  simplified  matters  for  the  relief-agent 
to  distribute  cash.  In  other  localities,  where  food- 
stuffs had  to  be  imported  from  a  great  distance,  and 
with  endless  difficulty  in  the  matter  of  permits  and 
transport,  it  was  necessary  to  distribute  the  actual 
food  commodities.  Money  would  have  been  useless. 
Indeed,  in  some  cases  the  people  were  able  to  pay  for 
supplies  furnished  by  the  relief -agents,  but  wholly  un- 
able to  obtain  provisions  for  themselves,  even  with 
money  in  hand. 

A  very  effective  form  of  relief  was  the  distribution 
of  wool,  which  was  given  out  to  women  to  spin  and  to 
knit  into  garments,  some  of  which  were  kept  for  the 
family  of  the  worker,  others  being  turned  back  to  the 
wool  distribution  center.  These  were  subsequently 
sold  for  the  benefit  of  the  relief-work,  or  were  sent  to 
orphanages  or  to  soup-kitchens  where  they  were  dis- 
tributed to  people  in  desperate  need  of  clothing. 

The  form  of  relief-work  that  the  Mission,  perhaps, 
most  favoured  was  the  assuming  of  a  fixed  respon- 
sibility for  a  number  of  orphans.  There  were  thou- 
sands of  children  bereft  of  one  or  both  of  their  parents 
who  would  surely  die  if  they  were  not  provided  with 
shelter,  food  and  clothing  by  some  charitable  organic- 
zation.  The  fundamental  principle  of  selection  in 
American  relief -work  throughout  the  war  was  the  at- 
tempt to  choose  individuals  with  a  view  to  their 


191 7 — The  Year  of  Horror  1 97 

prospective  value  to  the  country.  By  this  test  the  care 
of  the  children  was,  obviously,  of  paramount  im- 
portance. About  six  or  seven  thousand  orphans  were 
adopted  by  the  Mission,  and  were  cared  for  in  large 
orphanages,  in  shelters,  or  in  private  families  which 
were  willing  to  accept  the  care  of  an  orphan  in  ex- 
change for  their  own  support  by  relief-funds.  In 
many  cases  the  little  waifs  were  fostered  by  mothers 
who  had  already  several  children  of  their  own,  but 
who  considered  the  addition  of  another  five  or  ten  to 
the  family  only  a  slight  additional  burden.  Among  the 
lower  classes  in  Syria  the  care  of  a  child  is  at  best  a 
rather  haphazard  affair,  and  the  parents  consider  that 
they  are  amply  discharging  their  duty,  if  they  provide 
him  with  the  same  food  that  they  themselves  eat,  with 
one  or  two  indispensable  articles  of  clothing  (not  al- 
ways those  that  we  consider  indispensable),  and  with 
a  bed  to  sleep  on.  Instruction  in  personal  hygiene,  or 
in  moral  cleanliness,  schooling,  or  medical  care  are 
deemed  quite  superfluous;  and  the  child  is  alternately 
indulged  and  brutally  flogged  until  he  grows  strong 
enough  to  defend  himself  against  corporal  punishment. 
From  that  day  onward  he  is  independent.  It  will  be 
seen,  therefore,  that  the  care  of  an  orphan  is  not  such 
a  responsible  matter  as  it  would  be  with  us;  and  if  the 
child  is  given  three  meals  a  day,  the  responsibility 
whether  he  lives  or  dies  is  not  the  parents'  or  guard- 
ians', but  the  Lord's. 

It  was  found  more  generally  satisfactory  to  gather 
the  orphans  into  hospices  and  care  for  them  en  masse, 
especially  since  these  hospices  were  frequently  operated 


198         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

in  connection  with  a  soup-kitchen,  thus  minimizing  the 
expenditures  of  both.  Children  who  had  parents  or 
guardians,  and  a  shelter  for  the  night  were  merely  pro- 
vided with  nutritious  food  twice  a  day,  and  perhaps, 
with  certain  articles  of  clothing.  It  was  only  those 
who  were  absolutely  friendless  and  destitute  that  were 
taken  into  the  shelters. 

In  a  country  that  has  been  ravaged  by  disease  and 
starvation  with  all  their  attendant  ills,  it  is  not  suf- 
ficient to  feed  and  clothe  the  body,  but  provision  must 
also  be  made  for  proper  medical  treatment.  I  have 
heard  a  person  who  lived  in  Syria  during  the  whole 
period  of  the  war  state  his  belief  that  very  few  people 
in  Syria  actually  died  of  starvation,  but  rather  of  dis-. 
case.  In  one  sense  this  is  partially  true,  but  it  leaves 
out  of  account  the  fact  that  most  of  the  malignant  dis- 
eases prevalent  in  the  country  were  the  result  of 
famine  conditions  and  malnutrition.  Philanthropy, 
therefore,  to  be  of  permanent  value  must  be  carried  on 
in  conjunction  with  a  medical  campaign.  The  doc- 
tors and  nurses  deserve  an  ample  share  in  the  credit 
for  what  was  accomplished  in  Syria  for  the  welfare  of 
the  people.  Indeed,  the  relief-work  may  be  likened  in 
organization  to  a  modern  army,  in  which  the  medical 
and  sanitation  departments  are  no  less  important  than 
the  transport  service  and  the  commissariat.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  support  of  doctors  and  nurses  in  con- 
nection with  the  soup-kitchens  and  orphanages,  regu- 
lar appropriations  were  made  from  the  relief-funds 
to  hospitals,  or  to  Independent  practitioners  and  nurses 
who  were  limited  in  their  possibilities  of  usefulness  by 


1917 — The  Year  of  Horror  199 

the  inability  of  the  average  patient  to  pay  fees  for 
medical  services  or  hospital  care.  Funds  were  also 
made  available  in  local  pharmacies  for  the  free  dis- 
tribution of  medicines  and  drugs  according  to  doctors* 
prescriptions,  and  charity  beds  were  maintained  in  sev- 
eral hospitals.  It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that 
this  line  of  activity  freed  either  the  physicians  or  the 
hospitals  from  their  own  charitable  responsibilities. 
On  the  contrary,  it  was  only  a  means  of  widening  the 
scope  of  their  activities.  They  had  themselves  as- 
sumed more  than  their  full  share  of  philanthropic  ob- 
ligations, but  the  need  was  greater  than  they  could 
cope  with  unaided.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  many  a  pa- 
tient was  turned  away  from  a  hospital,  even  when  he 
had  friends  who  were  willing  to  guarantee  his  ex- 
penses, merely  because  there  was  no  possible  way  of 
making  room  for  him. 

The  most  painful  of  all  the  responsibilities  laid  upon 
the  handful  of  Americans  in  charge  of  the  relief-work 
was  the  necessity  of  selecting  from  a  vast  number 
those  who  should  constitute  the  small  group  that  could 
be  supported  by  the  limited  funds  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Mission.  It  seemed  that  they  were  usurping  a  divine 
prerogative  when  they  deliberately  determinated  that 
of  two  individuals  who  applied  for  assistance  one 
should  be  taken  and  the  other  left.  It  was  literally 
the  old  case  of  the  two  women  grinding  at  the  mill. 
In  general,  however,  an  honest  attempt  was  made  to 
predict  the  probable  permanent  value  of  an  individual 
to  his  country,  and  where  the  choice  lay  between  the 
young  and  the  aged,  the  well-educated  and  the  illiterate, 


200  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

the  breadwinner  of  a  family  and  the  independent  in- 
dividual, in  almost  every  case  the  former  was  chosen. 
The  resulting  necessity  of  refusing  many  who  had 
every  claim  on  our  sympathy  was  a  heart-breaking 
ordeal,  but  one  from  which  there  was  no  escape.  The 
first  principle  of  economy  was  to  keep  alive  those  on 
whom  funds  had  already  been  expended,  and  the  sec- 
ond was  so  to  distribute  further  funds  as  to  accom- 
plish the  greatest  good.  Whether  the  Mission  suc- 
ceeded or  failed  it  is  perhaps  too  early  to  judge.  It 
must  be  a  satisfaction,  however,  to  the  American  pub- 
lic to  know  that  the  funds  they  contributed  carried 
fully  160,000  Syrians  through  to  the  end  of  the  war, 
each  one  of  whom  would  indubitably  have  perished  had 
not  America's  generosity  furnished  the  means  of  sal- 
vation. Tens  of  thousands  more  were  saved  before 
they  reached  the  limit  of  utter  destitution. 

The  fatalism  of  the  East  is  proverbial,  and  has  both 
its  good  and  its  evil  effects  on  the  Oriental.  This 
fatalism,  exaggerated  during  the  war  to  positive 
apathy  by  the  overwhelming  sense  of  helplessness  and 
impotence,  generated  a  pitiful  spirit  in  the  people. 
There  is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  Syrian  to  ac- 
cept all  the  events  of  life,  whether  good  or  ill,  as  dis- 
pensations of  Providence,  and  the  death  of  a  child,  or 
success  in  a  business  venture  are  alike  accepted  as 
"min-Alldh"  (from  God).  At  times  one  rather  de- 
plores this  implicit  faith,  which  often  robs  an  indi- 
vidual of  the  stimulating  sense  of  personal  responsi- 
bility for  his  success  in  life.  There  is  more  incentive 
to  keen  living  in  our  English  adage,  "  God  helps  those 


1917 — The  Year  of  Horror  201 

who  help  themselves.'*  However,  in  Syria  during  the 
war,  I  think  that  even  the  Americans  were  at  times 
oppressed  with  this  sense  of  impotence.  Every  pos- 
sible obstacle  blocked  the  pathway  of  life,  and  even 
the  most  conscientious  efforts  to  help  oneself  and 
others,  and  thereby  merit  the  assistance  of  God,  seemed 
fruitless,  so  long  as  the  powers  of  evil  had  the  upper 
hand.  The  struggle  on  the  part  of  the  Syrian  people 
to  exist,  over  against  the  determination  of  the  Turks 
to  exterminate  them,  seemed  to  me  like  the  futile  ef- 
fort of  a  nation  to  build  some  tremendous  edifice. 
Stone  by  stone  the  pile  was  erected,  but  as  fast  as  the 
workers  built  the  Turks  destroyed.  The  most  that 
any  one  could  do  to  assist  in  the  unequal  competition 
was  to  help  the  builders  replace  on  the  foundations  the 
stones  that  were  being  thrown  off  by  the  despoiler. 
In  this  case  the  race  was  to  the  swift.  To-day  circum- 
stances are  far  different.  The  building  is  now  grow- 
ing, and  there  is  scarcely  a  hand  that  is  hindering. 
The  Turk  has  been  ejected  from  the  land,  and  Europe 
and  America  have  joined  forces  with  the  Syrians  to 
aid  them  in  their  endeavour  to  fashion  for  themselves 
a  place  among  the  nations  of  the  world. 

Pessimism  is  not  the  word  with  which  to  describe 
this  peculiar  mental  attitude  among  the  less  intelli- 
gent classes  of  Syrians.  Fatalism  comes  nearer  the 
truth,  and  yet  is  not  exactly  descriptive  of  that  strange 
indifference,  amounting  almost  to  impersonality  with 
which  the  masses  regarded  the  future.  I  recall  par- 
ticularly one  instance  which  has  remained  vividly  in 
my  memory.     I  had  determined  to  walk  from  the 


201         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Lebanon  village  of  *Aleih  where  I  was  summering  in 
1917  to  'Abeih,  some  ten  miles  further  along  the  same 
mountain  ridge.  There  were  no  carriages  or  pack- 
animals  for  hire  and  I  was  perplexed  as  to' how  I  should 
transport  my  suitcase,  which  such  a  tenderfoot  as  I 
found  too  great  a  burden.  Through  servants'  gossip 
it  became  known  in  *Aleih  that  I  was  to  make  the  ex- 
cursion, and  the  circumstances  under  which  I  was 
travelling,  and  the  evening  before  I  left  *Aleih  a 
neighbour  woman  came  to  the  house  and  begged  for 
the  privilege  of  carrying  my  bag  for  me.  At  first  I 
demurred,  for  I  could  not  allow  another  woman  to 
carry  a  load  which  I  myself  could  not  manage.  How- 
ever, she  insisted  that  she  was  strong,  and  being  a 
mountain  woman  had  been  accustomed  to  carrying 
much  heavier  loads  for  greater  distances.  Moreover, 
she  was  in  desperate  need  of  money,  work  was  scarce, 
and  she  was  eager  to  avail  herself  of  any  opportunity 
to  turn  an  honest  penny.  Finally  I  consented,  and  we 
set  out  together  the  following  morning.  We  walked 
slowly,  for  the  heat  was  intense  even  in  mid-October, 
and  the  suitcase,  while  not  very  heavy,  hindered  my 
companion's  progress.  As  she  knew  a  little  English, 
having  served  as  a  domestic  in  one  of  the  community 
families,  we  fell  to  chatting;  and  before  our  walk  was 
over  I  had  learned  another  of  the  pitiful  tales  which 
almost  daily  reached  our  ears.  Her  husband  had 
emigrated  to  Brazil  some  years  before  the  war,  leav- 
ing her  with  three  children,  and  no  means  of  support 
except  the  funds  which  he  sent  home.  With  the  war, 
his  remittances  had  stopped,  and  she  did  not  know 


1 9 1 7 — The  Year  of  Horror  203 

whether  he  was  alive  or  dead.  After  she  had  told  me 
simply,  and  without  the  least  note  of  complaint,  of  the 
terrible  struggle  she  had  to  keep  the  wolf  from  the 
door,  she  asked  me  how  long  I  thought  the  war  would 
continue.  Naturally,  I  knew  little  more  about  it  than 
she  did,  but  I  had  not  the  heart  to  give  her  too  dis- 
couraging an  answer.  "  Perhaps  we  can  live  through 
this  coming  winter,  for  the  Americans  have  helped  me 
a  little,  and  I  am  receiving  some  assistance  from  one 
of  my  brothers  who  has  a  little  shop ;  but  if  it  does  not 
finish  by  a  year  from  now,  I  and  my  three  children  will 
surely  die."  I  tried  to  speak  hopefully  to  her,  but  I 
knew  only  too  well  that  her  words  were  quite  true. 
And  her  case  was  one  of  thousands — perhaps  even  less 
serious  than  that  of  others,  for  she  was  receiving  "  a 
little  assistance,"  and  most  of  the  others  had  no  aid 
at  all. 

As  I  have  just  said,  all  the  best  American  efforts  at 
relief  were  merely  preventive,  rather  than  curative. 
We  had  put  our  shoulder  to  the  wheel,  as  the  figure 
goes;  but  push  as  we  might,  we  could  accomplish  no 
more  than  to  keep  the  cart  from  sliding  downhill  again. 
We  could  not  make  it  advance  by  even  one  revolution 
of  the  wheel;  and  indeed  it  seemed  as  if  even  our 
restraining  efforts  were  fruitless,  and  that  the  time 
must  come  when  the  cart  would  plunge  down  upon  us, 
bearing  us  with  it  to  destruction.  The  Turks,  more- 
over, were  doing  their  utmost  to  push  it  backwards. 
Thousands  of  dollars  of  American  money  had  been 
poured  into  Syria,  and  had  accomplished  a  vast  amount 
of  good,  but  further  tens  of  thousands  must  follow, 


204         .The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

else  all  that  had  already  been  expended  would  be 
wasted.  The  situation  would  have  been  difficult  enough 
from  the  relief  standpoint  had  there  been  merely 
the  economic  forces  to  contend  with,  but  with  the  Turk 
doing  his  utmost  to  undo  everything  that  could  be  done 
for  relief,  directly  blocking  every  move  in  advance,  and 
persecuting  either  Syrian  or  foreigner  engaged  in  the 
work  of  assistance  it  was  well-nigh  desperate. 

The  winter  of  1916-17  was  the  worst  that  I  myself 
experienced  in  Syria,  although  I  believe  that  the  fol- 
lowing year,  when  I  was  in  Constantinople,  was  even 
more  ghastly.  Disease  and  starvation  spread  abroad 
throughout  the  land.  In  the  city,  refugees  from  Leb- 
anon, driven  down  to  the  coast  by  the  hope  of  there 
obtaining  work,  or  at  least  of  escaping  from  the  bitter 
winter  of  the  mountains,  died  in  the  streets.  There 
were  days  when  on  the  walk  of  a  mile  from  our  house 
to  the  office,  Mr.  Dana  and  I  would  pass  as  many  as 
ten  or  twelve  people  either  dead  or  dying  by  the  road- 
side ;  or  with  death  only  a  few  hours  distant.  During 
the  winter  typhus  raged,  and  in  the  summer  cholera, 
dysentery,  and  pernicious  malaria  swept  over  the  whole 
country.  One  passed  four  or  five  funerals  each  day 
on  any  route,  and  the  same  coffin  did  service  for  every 
corpse  in  a  district  until  it  literally  fell  to  pieces.  In 
Lebanon  conditions  were  even  more  distressing.  In 
the  larger  towns  like  'Aleih,  the  dead  were  gathered 
off  from  the  streets  in  the  morning,  and  were  thrown 
out  on  the  hillside  back  of  the  town,  where  at  night  the 
jackals  and  hyenas  found  them.  In  more  isolated  vil- 
lages, especially  in  the  high  barren  regions  of  North 


1917 — The  Year  of  Horror  205 

Lebanon,  the  whole  population  perished  of  starvation 
and  disease.  There  are  certain  hamlets  where  the  liv- 
ing population  was  completely  obliterated,  and  where 
to-day  many  of  the  houses  still  contain  the  unburied 
skeletons  of  their  former  occupants. 

The  Government  made  no  effort  to  ameliorate  con- 
ditions, although  for  a  time  it  kept  up  the  pretence  of 
rationing  out  flour  to  the  poorest  inhabitants  of  each 
Lebanon  village.  I  happen  to  know  that  during  the 
summer  of  1916,  when  this  particular  hypocrisy  was 
being  most  widely  advertised,  in  a  village  near  Shwcir^ 
in  August  the  monthly  rations  were  three  months  over- 
due ;  and  even  for  the  month  of  May,  in  which  a  distri- 
bution had  been  made,  no  one  had  received  his  full 
allotment.  This  pretence  of  Government  assistance 
was  sustained  largely  by  those  who  found  this  means 
of  robbery  one  of  the  most  fruitful  ways  of  preying 
upon  the  unfortunate  people.  It  also  had  an  element 
of  zest,  for  it  kept  the  poor  in  a  state  of  constant  hope 
without  giving  them  enough  to  preserve  life.  It  was 
the  gossip  of  *Aleih  that  same  summer  that  Jemal 
Pasha  had  sent  a  carload  of  wheat  as  a  present  to  the 
poor  of  that  village,  and  that  it  had  been  seized  by  a 
wealthy  Moslem  in  the  town  and  sold  for  his  own 
profit.  I  cannot  vouch  for  the  truth  of  this  story,  but 
I  do  know  that  it  is  typical  of  what  actually  occurred. 
The  bread  which  the  Government  distributed  in  most 
cases  contained  no  wheat  at  all,  but  was  an  unwhole- 
some mixture  of  barley,  corn,  millet,  and  even  earth 
and  tares.  Certain  diseases  resulting  from  malnutri- 
tion, such  as  pelagra,  hitherto  practically  unknown  in 


2o6         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Syria,  became  increasingly  prevalent,  and  the  germs  of 
scabies,  dysentery,  typhoid  and  malaria  were  every- 
where. It  was  more  than  heart  could  bear  to  travel 
about  in  Lebanon,  and  see  the  terrible  evidences  of 
famine  and  death  that  stared  one  in  the  face.  The 
foreigner  was  literally  besieged  with  requests  for  help, 
which  he  could  not  grant ;  and  the  wretched  people  who 
had  besought  hkn  turned  away  with  the  dumb  pain  of 
a  wounded  animal,  but  never  a  word  of  complaint. 
To  give  to  one  beggar  in  the  street  meant  that  twenty 
would  spring  up  out  of  the  ground  to  demand  alms; 
and  all  of  us  had  incurred  special  responsibilities,  such 
as  the  entire  support  of  as  many  individuals  as  our 
means  would  permit,  so  that  we  could  not  scatter  our 
funds  to  give  one  loaf  of  bread  each  to  a  hundred  peo- 
ple, when  a  hundred  loaves  would  keep  one  person 
alive  for  more  than  a  month. 

The  most  surprising  thing  to  me  in  the  whole  situa- 
tion was  the  absence  of  organized  lawlessness,  or  even 
of  consistent  raiding.  I  have  frequently  stood  on 
some  mountain  ridge  and  looked  across  the  canyon  to 
a  similar  spur  on  the  opposite  side.  From  that  bird's- 
eye  view  I  have  marked  the  remote  and  tiny  hamlets, 
the  isolated  clusters  of  houses,  even  the  single  buildings 
standing  quite  apart ;  and  have  wondered  why  in  such 
a  country  robber  bands  had  not  sprung  into  existence. 
There  are  fastnesses  in  Lebanon,  both  secret  and  im- 
pregnable, where  from  ten  to  a  hundred  desperate  men 
might  make  their  lair.  Thence  they  could  sally  forth 
to  raid  and  terrorize,  and  no  power  of  law  and  order 
could  have  restrained  them.     There  were,  of  course, 


1 9 1 7 — The  Year  of  Horror  207 

certain  districts  where  brigandage  was  not  uncommon, 
and  there  were  numerous  cases  where  men  were 
robbed  and  murdered  for  their  real  or  fancied  wealth. 
But  such  instances  were  the  exception;  in  general,  life 
and  property  were  respected,  and  it  was  quite  safe  even 
for  an  individual  to  travel  about  in  the  mountains. 

The  traces  of  those  terrible  years  are  still  evident  in 
Lebanon,  and  there  are  villages  which  to-day  are  de- 
serted and  in  which  the  houses  are  falling  into  decay. 
The  history  of  the  average  Lebanon  family  during 
the  four  years  of  the  war  was  somewhat  as  follows. 
The  breadwinner  was  either  a  day-labourer  or  the  pos- 
sessor of  a  small  piece  of  land  which  he  had  inherited 
from  his  father  and  his  grandfather,  and  which  annu- 
ally afforded  him  a  scanty  yield.  Perhaps  his  land 
was  planted  with  mulberry  trees.  If  so,  the  first  crop 
of  leaves  was  fed  to  the  silkworms  during  the  spring, 
and  the  later  crops  furnished  fodder  for  a  cow,  or 
served  to  fatten  a  sheep  which  was  killed  and  salted 
down  for  the  winter.  Perhaps  he  had  a  truck-garden, 
whose  meagre  crops  were  only  sufficient  to  feed  him 
and  his  family  of  six.  In  any  event,  he  lived  a  hand- 
to-mouth  existence.  He  had  nothing  laid  aside  for  a 
rainy  day;  and  when  the  war  came  and  the  silk  in- 
dustry ceased,  and  he  had  no  money  with  which  to  buy 
seeds  for  his  garden,  he  had  no  alternative  but  to  sell 
his  land,  except  the  piece  on  which  the  house  stood, 
trusting  either  that  he  might  find  work  in  the  city,  or 
that  the  war  might  end,  and  conditions  immediately,  as 
he  ignorantly  supposed,  resume  their  normal  course. 
He  failed,  however,  to  find  work,  and  the  second  year 


2o8         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

of  the  war  commenced.  Then  he  sold  everything  in 
his  house  except  the  beds  on  which  his  family  slept,  and 
the  one  or  two  indispensable  cooking  utensils.  Later, 
he  attempted  to  sell  the  house;  but  failing  in  this,  he 
stripped  the  tiles  from  the  roof,  and  sold  those,  and 
finally  the  iron  or  wooden  beams  that  supported  the 
roof.  He  and  his  family  moved  down  into  what  they 
call  in  Syria  a  kubbeh,  or  vaulted  cellar  on  the  ground 
level.  This  tided  him  through  the  second  year  of  the 
war.  Typhus,  which  was  raging  in  the  village,  carried 
off  his  wife  and  one  child  during  the  winter  that  fol- 
lowed. Of  the  four  motherless  children  that  remained 
the  eldest,  a  girl  of  ten,  became  the  housekeeper,  if 
such  a  term  can  be  applied  to  the  woman  in  an  estab- 
lishment which  possessed  neither  furniture,  utensils, 
nor  a  house  that  was  intact.  The  baby  died  of  dysen- 
tery, and  the  father  of  cholera  during  the  summer  of 
1916.  The  three  other  children  were  driven  to  beg- 
ging, and  two  of  them  died  of  starvation  and  exposure. 
The  sole  survivor  of  that  family,  a  little  boy  of  five, 
was  found  at  the  point  of  death  by  Dr.  Dray,  the  Eng- 
lish doctor  in  charge  of  the  orphanage  and  hospice  at 
BrummAna,  and  was  nursed  back  to  life  and  health. 
About  that  Brumm^na  work  I  want  to  tell  you  next. 


XIII 

HOW  AN  ENGLISHMAN  KEPT  FOUR  THOU- 
SAND SYRIANS  ALIVE 

THE  Brumm^na  Hospice  is  even  more  widely 
known  as  "  Dr.  Dray's  Relief  Work,"  for  it 
was  originated  and  maintained  through  the 
efforts  of  Dr.  Arthur  Dray,  a  member  of  the  Faculty 
of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College  and  head  of  the 
Dental  Department.  Dr.  Dray  spent  most  of  his  early 
life  in  Syria;  and  although  he  was  an  Englishman, 
took  his  medical  training  in  the  United  States.  After 
completing  his  extensive  education,  he  gave  up  the 
great  career  that  lay  before  him  in  America  to  return 
to  Syria,  where  he  believed  that  he  might  be  of  even 
greater  service.  Not  only  is  he  preeminently  the  den- 
tal surgeon  in  the  whole  of  the  former  Turkish  Em- 
pire, but  he  is  also  licensed  to  practise  in  several  other 
departments  of  the  medical  profession.  His  special 
interest,  however,  is  in  his  dental  work,  and  in  the  pur- 
suit of  this  passion  he  has  brought  untold  blessing  to 
Syria.  There  are  comparatively  few  countries  in  the 
world  to-day  that  can  compete  with  America  in  the 
science  of  dentistry;  but  thanks  to  Dr.  Dray,  and  his 
associates  and  pupils  of  the  Dental   School  of  the 

209 


210  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Syrian  Protestant  College,  Syria  may  soon  rightfully 
boast  that  she  has  more  skilled  dentists  in  proportion 
to  her  population  than  many  countries  more  advanced 
in  other  ways. 

Dr.  Dray's  position  in  Turkey  during  the  war  was 
unique.  He  had  won  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the 
two  most  influential  Turks  in  Syria,  largely  through 
their  gratitude  for  his  professional  services;  and  al- 
though he  was  an  Englishman,  and  therefore  an  en- 
emy, he  was  privileged  above  any  other  foreigner  in 
the  country.  The  Turk  is  not  celebrated  for  his  hon- 
esty, his  patriotism,  or  his  philanthropy,  and  his  in- 
stinct is  to  punish  with  the  utmost  cruelty  any  one  who 
possesses  these  qualities.  He  does,  however,  recognize 
an  honest  and  fearless  man,  and  respects  him,  when 
once  he  has  satisfied  himself  that  these  qualities  are 
inherent  and  are  not  to  be  overcome  by  intimidation  or 
cruelty.  There  is  much  of  the  animal  in  the  Turkish 
nature.  Figuratively  speaking,  a  bold  and  steady  gaze 
will  make  him  cringe,  but  the  least  sign  of  fear  will 
arouse  his  brute  instincts  and  his  thirst  for  blood. 

Dr.  Dray  was  one  of  the  trio  of  British  doctors  on 
the  Faculty  of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College  who  were 
deported  with  their  fellow-countrymen  in  December, 
1914,  but  who  later  were  allowed  to  return  to  Beirut  in 
order  that  the  Medical  School  of  the  American  College 
might  continue  to  produce  doctors  who  could,  upon 
graduation,  be  drafted  into  the  army.  One  midnight 
in  the  summer  of  1915  Dr.  Dray  was  visited  by  Turk- 
ish police  who  presented  orders  from  Jemal  Pasha 
commanding  him  to  proceed  immediately  to  Jerusalem, 


Four  Thousand  Syrians  Kept  Alive       2 1 1 

The  poHce  would  furnish  no  explanation  of  this  per- 
emptory order,  but  Dr.  Dray's  natural  assumption  was 
that  the  intent  was  hostile.  It  was  something  of  a  re- 
lief, however,  to  be  told  that  he  must  bring  his  surgical 
equipment. 

That  night  he  travelled  to  Damascus,  and  upon  his 
arrival  there  he  was  told  that  in  an  hour  or  two  there 
would  be  a  special  train  to  take  him  on  to  Jerusalem — 
a  special  train  for  a  belligerent  doctor,  when  the  Ger- 
man Commander-in-Chief  was  practically  the  only  per- 
sonage in  Syria  who  travelled  in  such  style!  Even 
Jemal  Pasha  himself  preferred  less  conspicuous  modes 
of  conveyance.  Arrived  in  Jerusalem,  Dr.  Dray  was 
conducted  immediately  to  Jemal  Pasha's  quarters  in 
the  German  Stiftung  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  where 
he  was  required  to  operate  without  a  moment's  delay 
on  an  influential  Turkish  guest  of  Jemal  Pasha.  The 
Pasha  and  his  companion,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
royal  family  at  the  Capital,  had  been  driving  together 
when  a  shot  was  fired  into  their  carriage.  It  had  evi- 
dently been  intended  for  the  Commander  of  the  Turk- 
ish Army,  but  it  hit  the  other  man,  inflicting  serious 
facial  injuries.  The  wound  had  been  neglected,  and 
the  patient  was  in  a  very  grave  state  when  Dr.  Dray 
first  saw  him.  The  operation  proved  miraculously 
successful,  and  Jemal  Pasha  was  delighted.  He  show- 
ered the  doctor  with  attentions,  and  returned  him  to 
Beirut  with  a  letter  of  highest  recommendation  to  the 
Governor  of  that  city.  He  dropped  the  warning,  how- 
ever, that  if  he  ever  had  cause  to  suspect  that  the  mat- 
ter had  gotten  out  through  Dr.  Dray,  it  would  go  hard 


212         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

with  him.  It  was  evident  that  the  Turk  was  deter- 
mined that  no  hint  of  the  unpopularity  which  had  re- 
sulted in  an  attempt  on  his  life  should  reach  his  jealous 
colleagues  in  Constantinople.  Needless  to  say,  Dr. 
Dray  guarded  the  secret  as  his  own,  and  never  men- 
tioned it  to  any  one  until  after  the  British  occupation 
of  Syria,  and  the  flight  of  the  Pasha  from  Constanti- 
nople. The  great  Turk's  gratitude  reminds  one  of  the 
story  of  Androcles  and  the  Lion.  Thenceforth  he 
could  not  do  too  much  for  Dr.  Dray,  and  there  were 
even  times  when  the  Doctor  was  forced  to  remind  his 
"grateful  patient**  that  he  was  himself  a  British 
patriot,  and  therefore  an  enemy  of  the  Turk.  Even 
this  defiance,  however,  only  seemed  to  increase  the 
Pasha's  respect,  and  as  long  as  he  was  in  power  he 
manifested  consistent  friendliness  to  the  Doctor,  and 
through  him  to  the  College. 

The  letter  of  recommendation  brought  by  Dr.  Dray 
from  Jemal  Pasha  to  Azmi  Bey  was  not  at  all  favour- 
ably received  by  the  latter,  and  it  was  not  until  he  him- 
self was  suffering  from  an  ulcerated  tooth  that  he  too 
surrendered  to  necessity  and  sent  for  Dr.  Dray.  From 
that  time  onward  he  was  very  friendly  toward  the 
Doctor,  and  on  several  occasions  even  commanded  him 
to  dinner.  Those  must  have  been  pleasant  meals,  for 
although  the  Governor  entertained  his  guest  gra- 
ciously, he  took  no  pains  to  hide  the  loaded  revolvers 
which  were  to  be  found  in  every  part  of  his  house  al- 
ways within  reach  of  the  notorious  assassin ! 

All  this  is  by  way  of  explanation  how  it  came  about 
that  a  year  later  Dr.  Dray,  an  enemy  of  the  Turkish 


Four  Thousand  Syrians  Kept  Alive       213 

regime,  but  the  friend  of  the  Syrian  people,  was  per- 
mitted to  organize  and  carry  on  extensive  relief- 
work  in  Lebanon.  He  had  chosen  for  his  summer- 
residence  the  village  of  Brummt\na,  about  fifteen  miles 
from  Beirut,  one  of  the  few  summering  places  acces- 
sible from  the  city  at  that  time  when  transport  was  un- 
obtainable, and  one  had  to  depend  upon  one's  own  legs 
to  carry  one  up  and  down  the  mountain.  It  so  hap- 
pened that  Jemal  Pasha  was  also  summering  in  Brum- 
m^na;  and  although  Dr.  Dray  encountered  him  sel- 
dom, it  later  proved  a  fortunate  thing  for  the  poor  in  a 
great  district  that  these  two  men  visited  in  that  locality 
at  the  same  time. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Dray  were  guests  at  the  Saalmiiller 
Hotel,  which  is  delightfully  situated  on  a  ridge  com- 
manding one  of  the  loveliest  views  of  Lebanon,  Beirut 
and  the  coastal  plain  to  the  north  and  west,  and  the 
ascending  steeps  of  the  higher  Lebanon  ranges  to  the 
south  and  east.  By  reason  of  its  pines,  in  a  region 
where  trees  are  all  too  few,  Brumm^na  had  become  a 
special  favourite  among  the  nearer  summering  places ; 
and  had  it  not  been  for  the  distress  about  them.  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Dray  would  have  enjoyed  a  most  restful  and 
peaceful  vacation.  Apart  from  the  habitations  of 
men,  with  the  ever-lovely  panorama  of  Lebanon  scen- 
ery to  delight  and  refresh  the  soul,  Swinburne's  lines 
came  to  mind: 

"  Here,  where  the  world  is  quiet, 
Here,  where  all  trouble  seems 
Dead  winds'  and  spent  waves*  riot. 
In  doubtful  dreams  of  dreams." 


214         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

From  the  eyrie  of  Lebanon  the  war  seemed  incredible, 
and  trouble  only  a  "  doubtful  dream  of  dreams  " ;  but 
into  such  a  reverie  of  peace  the  spectre  of  reality  never 
failed  to  penetrate.  The  solitary  dreamer  was  startled 
by  a  whine  at  his  elbow,  "  God  has  been  generous  to 
you,  oh  my  brother ! "  The  very  personification  of 
misery  met  the  lifted  eye.  A  walking  skeleton  clad  in 
filthy  rags  extended  its  cla\y-like  hand. 

The  first  morning  in  Brumm^na,  the  Doctor  took 
his  book  out  under  the  trees,  but  he  was  followed  by 
several  persons  who,  having  learned  of  his  arrival,  had 
come  to  him  for  help,  even  as  the  multitudes  besieged 
that  other  Healer  when  He  went  out  from  the  city  into 
the  hills.  Dr.  Dray  did  not  dismiss  them,  but  en- 
couraged them  to  tell  him  of  their  need ;  and  after  they 
had  gone  away,  he  sat  for  a  long  time  and  pondered. 
Here  was  evidently  an  opportunity  to  heal  and  save, 
but  before  the  work  could  be  undertaken  there  was  still 
the  problem  to  solve:  shall  I  feed  them  to-day  and  let 
them  starve  to-morrow,  or  shall  I  use  my  limited  means 
to  care  for  a  few  individuals  for  an  indefinite  period, 
until  the  end  of  the  war,  or  until  they  can  become  self- 
supporting?  Never  was  there  a  greater  test  of  faith 
than  the  decision  which  resulted  from  that  morning's 
reflection.  Dr.  Dray  determined  to  accept  a  limited 
number  of  proteges  whom  he  promised  himself  to  sup- 
port until  the  time  of  need  should  be  past.  He  saw  his 
way  clear  for  some  months  to  come,  but  how  he  should 
fulfil  this  self-imposed  obligation  in  the  uncertain  fu- 
ture he  left  for  the  future  to  answer. 

Jemal  Pasha's  presence  in  the  village  rendered  the 


Four  Thousand  Syrians  Kept  Alive        215 

work  that  Dr.  Dray  contemplated  quite  impossible 
until  the  former  could  be  induced  to  give  his  sanction 
to  such  a  charitable  undertaking.  On  an  appropriate 
occasion  the  Doctor  sketched  briefly  the  tragic  condi- 
tions that  obtained,  and  intimated  his  readiness  to  do 
what  he  could  in  the  way  of  relief.  The  Pasha  gra- 
ciously gave  his  consent  on  condition  that  no  males  be- 
tween twelve  and  sixty  should  benefit  by  the  enter- 
prise; but  he  brusquely  stated  that,  if  Dr.  Dray  ever 
quoted  him  as  having  made  that  stipulation,  the  work 
would  immediately  be  terminated,  and  the  Doctor  pun- 
ished for  his  indiscretion. 

The  necessity  of  excluding  men  from  among  the 
possible  beneficiaries  of  such  work  as  Dr.  Dray 
planned  was  a  matter  of  little  importance.  It  was  the 
pitiful  plight  of  the  women  and  children — particularly 
the  children — that  made  his  heart  ache ;  and  to  the  men 
who  later  solicited  his  assistance  he  replied  that  they 
should  by  rights  be  serving  in  the  army  of  their  coun- 
try, and  that  he  could  do  nothing  to  countenance  the 
neglect  of  patriotic  duties.  Later  the  Pasha  dropped 
a  remark  which  was  interpreted  as  permission  to  em- 
ploy a  few  men  as  labourers,  but  the  number  of  the 
men  on  the  list  of  beneficiaries  was  always  negligible. 

In  the  beginning.  Dr.  Dray  adopted  the  plan  of  giv- 
ing to  those  few  whose  need  he  had  investigated  and 
found  to  be  genuine  small  amounts  of  money,  only 
sufficient  for  their  daily  needs.  In  a  few  days,  how- 
ever, large  numbers  who  had  heard  of  this  relief 
thronged  to  the  hotel,  and  Dr.  Dray  realized  that  he 
must,  in  fairness  to  the  other  guests,  make  other  ar- 


2 16         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Erain  Syria 

rangemcnts  for  his  relief-work.  Accordingly,  he  ar- 
ranged with  a  woman  in  the  village  to  prepare  a  simple 
meal  of  cooked  vegetables  and  bread  for  the  fifteen 
persons  whom  he  had  accepted  as  his  proteges.  This 
experiment,  however,  did  not  prove  a  success;  but  a 
Syrian  friend,  Mrs.  Cortass,  offered  her  services  for 
the  preparation  of  the  one  meal  a  day  which  Dr.  Dray 
had  decided  to  give  those  he  was  helping.  Fifteen 
partook  of  that  first  meal,  but  by  the  end  of  a  year  the 
BrummAna  Soup-Kitchen,  as  it  subsequently  became, 
was  feeding  fifteen  hundred  or  more. 

The  rapidity  with  which  a  charitable  enterprise  of 
any  nature  is  advertised  among  the  people,  and  the 
confidence  with  which  the  needy  throng  to  the  center 
of  assistance  recalls  the  story  of  the  Gospels.  Every 
day  from  that  time  until  the  end  of  the  war,  new  per- 
sons came  with  their  stories  of  distress,  each  more 
heartrending  than  the  last,  and  within  a  week  there 
were  fifty  instead  of  fifteen  to  feed;  and  a  few  days 
later  one  hundred.  Mrs.  Cortass  could  no  longer  feed 
this  crowd  from  her  own  door,  and  the  kitchen  was 
moved  to  a  neighbouring  French  hotel  which  had  been 
seized,  occupied,  and  then  abandoned  by  Turkish 
troops.  During  the  remainder  of  the  summer,  the 
food  was  given  out  from  this  place.  What  this  work 
subsequently  became  can  best  be  described  by  a  brief 
account  of  what  it  was  when  I  visited  it  in  October, 
1917,  about  fifteen  months  later. 

It  was  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  a  crisp  autumn 
day  with  a  tang  in  the  air  that  gave  one  a  keen  appetite, 
and  made  one  seek  the  sunshine.     It  was  the  hour  for 


Four  Thousand  Syrians  Kept  Alive       2 1 7 

the  morning  distribution  at  the  Brummana  Soup- 
Kitchen,  and  the  crowd  was  gathering  in  a  small  pine 
grove  a  stone's  throw  from  the  distribution  shanty.  I 
was  sitting  in  this  shack  watching  the  preparations  for 
the  distribution.  Men  were  hurrying  from  the  oven 
carrying  great  basket  trays  heaped  with  fragrant 
loaves  of  bread,  or  staggering  along  with  enormous 
cauldrons  of  steaming  gruel.  In  a  few  moments  a 
young  man  who  was  standing  just  outside  the  grove 
where  the  crowd  was  waiting  began  to  read  off  the  list 
of  names  of  those  regularly  enrolled  for  help ;  and  they 
came  forward  single-file,  down  a  fenced  pathway,  and 
halted  before  the  rail  over  which  the  food  was  served 
only  long  enough  to  present  their  tickets  and  receive 
their  allotment  of  gruel  and  bread.  Each  one  brought 
his  own  receptacle,  and  the  study  of  these  vessels  alone 
was  ludicrously  pathetic.  One  had  an  old  battered 
enamel  pitcher,  another  a  rusty  tin  pail,  another  a  bis- 
cuit box  fitted  up  with  a  flimsy  handle  of  wire,  an- 
other an  earthenware  crock  or  jar,  and  still  others  old 
tin  cans.  Some  of  these  utensils  were  large  enough  to 
hold  the  portions  for  a  family  of  four  or  five,  others 
held  only  the  one  huge  ladleful  that  represented  a 
single  portion. 

As  that  tragic  line  filed  past,  one  of  the  Syrian 
helpers  deftly  ladled  out  the  gruel,  and  another  handed 
out  the  bread,  one  loaf  for  each  portion.  Again  and 
again  a  fresh  kettle  of  soup  or  another  tray  of  bread 
was  brought  up  to  replace  the  one  which  had  just  been 
emptied ;  the  distribution  lasted  nearly  an  hour.  Out 
of  the  twelve  hundred  fed  that  day,  nine-tenths  were 


2l8         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria  ^ 

children,  and  the  rest  were  women.  For  reasons  al- 
ready explained,  there  were  no  men  or  boys  over 
twelve  in  that  line;  and  fully  a  fourth  of  the  number 
who  presented  their  empty  buckets  to  be  filled  could 
hardly  reach  up  over  the  rail,  they  were  so  tiny.  Mrs. 
Dray,  who  was  sitting  beside  me,  watched  them  all 
with  motherly  solicitude,  and  to  each  she  gave  a 
friendly  nod  in  return  for  the  affectionate  salaams  with 
which  they  greeted  her.  To  some  she  addressed  a 
question,  to  others  she  hinted  the  advisability  of 
greater  cleanliness,  or  presented  a  ticket  for  a  new. 
garment.  She  knew  them  all  by  name  and  history,  and 
many  a  fragmentary  tragedy  she  v^hispered  to  me  as 
some  particularly  pathetic  individual  passed  before  us. 
What  impressed  me  most,  however,  and  what  most 
wrung  my  heart  was  the  frequency  with  which  she 
would  point  out  some  little  tot  who  was  entirely  alone 
in  the  world,  the  sole  survivor  of  a  family  of  six,  eight, 
or  ten  individuals.  One  had  only  to  examine  the  face 
and  the  figure  to  estimate  how  long  a  person  had  been 
fed  at  the  Soup-Kitchen.  Those  who  had  been  pen- 
sioners for  some  months  were  sturdy  and  wholesome  in 
appearance,  and  had  lost  that  strained  look  of  anxiety 
and  apprehension.  Those  who  were  newly  come  were 
still  emaciated,  timid,  and  cowed.  Some  were  shiver- 
ing with  ague  or  malaria,  others  had  terrible  sore  eyes ; 
but  each,  if  only  he  remained  on  the  Soup-Kitchen  list, 
had  the  certainty  of  food  and  medical  care  until  the 
end  of  the  war. 

At  the  end  of  each  distribution  came  the  most  trying 
ordeal  for  those  in  charge  of  the  relief-work.     There 


Four  Thousand  Syrians  Kept  Alive       219 

were  never  less  than  fifty  stragglers  who  were  not  on 
the  Hst,  but  who  had  assembled  with  the  others  in  the 
hope  that  any  left-overs  might  fall  to  their  lot.  At 
first,  whatever  remained  was  distributed  as  far  as  it 
would  go,  but  in  time  the  number  who  depended  on 
sharing  this  small  quantity  of  food  became  so  great, 
and  fights  over  it  were  so  frequent  that  finally  the  dis- 
tributor had  to  refuse  to  give  even  what  was  left  to  any 
that  were  not  on  the  regular  list.  It  was  pitiful  to  see 
the  disappointment  of  the  unfortunate  ones  when  they 
realized  that  there  was  not  one  drop  or  one  crumb  to 
spare,  and  that  they  could  not  immediately  be  enrolled 
among  the  lucky  ones. 

The  food  was  cooked  in  enormous  cauldrons,  and  it 
was  inevitable  in  the  preparation  of  such  a  quantity 
that  a  residue  should  stick  to  the  bottom  of  the  vessel 
and  char  there.  Although  this  was  burned,  it  con- 
tained a  certain  amount  of  nutriment,  and  it  was  care- 
fully scraped  ofif  and  given  to  the  two  watch-dogs  that 
guarded  the  premises.  When  the  people  discovered 
this  fact  they  went  down  on  their  knees  and  begged 
that  it  be  given  to  them  instead  of  the  dogs,  a  request 
which  could  not  be  refused,  and  they  devoured  it  as 
ravenously  as  the  dogs  themselves  would  have  done. 

Had  Dr.  Dray  obeyed  his  own  great  heart,  or  re- 
sponded to  the  full  need  of  that  district,  he  might  have 
fed  fifteen  thousand  daily;  but  his  funds  were  limited, 
and  the  most  diflficult  of  all  the  difiiicult  things  he  had 
to  do  was  to  turn  away  those  destitute  people  who  be- 
sought his  aid,  and  who  assured  him,  all  too  truly  as 
he  knew,  that  no  one  but  God  and  himself  could  save 


220  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

them  from  certain  death  a  few  days  or  weeks  hence. 
Dr.  Dray  pled  with  his  treasurer  for  increased  appro- 
priations, and  the  latter  in  his  turn  did  his  utmost  to 
obtain  contributions  from  wealthy  and  influential 
friends.  But  after  all,  the  Brumm^na  work  was  only 
one  of  many  similar  organizations,  and  the  need  there, 
great  as  it  was,  was  no  greater  than  that  of  other  dis- 
tricts. A  few  cases  which  Dr.  Dray  cited  as  typical 
reveal  the  tragedies  which  resulted  from  his  inability 
to  increase  his  work  beyond  a  certain  limit. 

One  day  a  poor  woman  visited  him  in  his  office  in 
Beirut.  She  had  five  children  with  her,  and  all  were 
manifestly  starving.  She  told  the  Doctor  that  her 
husband  was  in  the  United  States,  but  that  she  had  not 
been  able  to  communicate  with  him,  or  receive  any 
financial  assistance  from  him.  She  stated  the  simple 
fact  that  they  could  not  live  more  than  a  few  days 
unless  some  one  helped  them,  and  having  heard  of  Dr. 
Dray's  hospice,  she  had  come  to  implore  him  to  take 
the  children  in.  For  herself  she  asked  nothing.  She 
was  ready  to  die  as  soon  as  she  knew  they  were  pro- 
vided for,  and  she  only  asked  that  after  the  war  was 
over  the  Doctor  would  tell  her  husband  that  she  had 
done  her  best  for  her  children  and  his.  The  hospice 
was  already  full  to  overflowing,  and  the  Doctor  was 
turning  away  daily  dozens  of  similar  cases,  but  he 
finally  told  the  mother  that  he  would  take  two  of  the 
five  children.  He  had  no  sooner  spoken  than  he  saw 
his  mistake,  for  the  poor  mother  had  then  to  decide 
which  of  her  darlings  she  should  choose.  She  herself 
must  appoint  the  two  to  live  in  the  knowledge  that  the 


Four  Thousand  Syrians  Kept  Alive       22  f 

other  three  would  certainly  die  with  her.  Her  distress 
was  more  than  Dr.  Dray  could  bear,  and  he  finally  con- 
sented to  take  all  five,  although  he  did  not  know  what 
he  could  do  with  them. 

In  another  case,  a  mother  with  two  children,  the  only 
survivors  of  a  family  of  six  or  seven  little  ones,  came 
to  him  with  the  same  request.  This  father  also  was  in 
America.  The  mother  would  die  content,  if  only  the 
hospice  would  take  her  children  and  Dr.  Dray  would 
promise  to  tell  her  husband  that  she  had  done  her  best 
for  them.  It  was  impossible,  so  it  seemed  to  the  Doc- 
tor then,  to  accept  another  child  into  the  already 
crowded  hospice,  but  he  gave  the  mother  a  letter  to 
Azmi  Bey  recommending  her  for  enrollment  in  one  of 
the  municipal  soup-kitchens  in  Beirut.  It  was  a  cold, 
rainy  day  in  winter.  The  Doctor  had  walked  up  to 
Brumm^na  to  oversee  the  work,  and  was  hurrying  to 
start  back  to  Beirut  before  night  fell.  About  an  hour 
after  the  woman  had  left  he  himself  started  on  the  long 
tramp  through  the  rain.  A  short  distance  out  of 
Brummdna  he  came  upon  the  mother  lying  dead  by  the 
roadside,  her  weeping  babes  shivering  beside  her. 
What  could  he  do  but  turn  back  to  Brummdna  taking 
the  children  with  him  ? 

Such  cases  as  these  are  what  might  be  called  the 
fortunate  ones,  for  at  least  certain  members  of  these 
families  were  finally  enrolled  on  the  Soup-Kitchen  list. 
What,  though,  of  the  others  for  whom  there  was  no 
room  ?  Some  months  later  Dr.  Dray  took  me  down  to 
a  little  pine  grove  on  the  edge  of  a  precipice  not  more 
than  thirty  yards  from  the  kitchen  where  the  food  for 


222  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

distribution  was  cooked.  In  that  little  clump  of  trees 
we  found  the  bones  of  three  people,  a  woman  and  two 
children.  They  had  died  there  of  starvation  with  the 
odour  of  food  in  their  nostrils,  and  the  wild  animals  of 
the  hills  had  eaten  their  bodies,  leaving  their  bones  to 
whiten  on  the  ground.  That  tells  the  story  of  thou- 
sands. 

After  the  distribution  was  over,  Mrs.  Dray  took  me 
on  a  tour  of  inspection.  The  work  was  located  in  the 
extensive  grounds  of  the  hotel  previously  mentioned, 
and  there  were  two  or  three  hundred  employees  en- 
gaged in  preparing  the  food  and  maintaining  the  estab- 
lishment. We  passed  first  a  shed  where  about  thirty- 
five  women  were  "  stuffing  '*  sheep.  Some  were  gath- 
ering mulberry  leaves,  or  chopping  them  up  fine; 
others,  squatting  on  the  ground  hour  after  hour, 
crammed  the  food  into  the  sheeps'  mouths.  A  sheep 
fattened  in  this  way  soon  becomes  so  heavy  that  its 
legs  will  not  bear  its  weight,  and  one  feels  that  the 
process  is  unnecessarily  cruel  when  one  sees  the  poor 
beast  lying  on  the  ground  gasping  for  breath  between 
swallows,  with  the  inexorable  "  stuff er  "  still  forcing 
food  down  its  throat.  At  the  end  of  the  summer  a 
good  fat  sheep  weighs  as  much  as  one  hundred  or  one 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  before  it  is  butchered,  and 
yields  between  twenty-five  and  thirty  pounds  of  dressed 
meat.  This  is  salted  and  preserved  in  its  own  fat  to 
be  used  during  the  winter  when  it  is  difficult  to  secure 
fresh  meat. 

Afterwards  we  crossed  the  road  and  inspected  the 
charcoal  kiln  where  all  the  fuel  used  in  the  kitchens 


Four  Thousand  Syrians  Kept  Alive        223 

was  prepared  by  the  few  men  who  were  receiving  as- 
sistance. The  wood  for  the  charcoal  was  contributed 
entirely  by  the  beneficiaries  of  the  Soup-Kitchen  in 
partial  return  for  their  support.  Certain  of  the  men 
felled  the  trees,  and  carried  the  wood  on  their  backs  in 
some  cases  for  a  distance  of  five,  or  ten  miles,  or  even 
more.  Others  cut  it  into  lengths,  and  prepared  the 
kilns,  over  each  of  which  presided  a  specialist  in  the  art 
of  charcoal  manufacture.  The  output  of  this  branch 
of  the  industry  was  for  that  season  about  fifty  tons  of 
charcoal,  a  small  portion  of  which  was  consumed  in 
the  kitchens,  while  the  rest  was  sold  in  the  market  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  relief-work. 

Further  along  was  a  low  shed  where  fifteen  or 
twenty  women  were  shaping  the  loaves  of  bread  for 
the  oven.  What  we  know  as  "  Arab  bread  "  is  a  curi- 
ous thing.  The  dough  is  prepared  just  as  our  bread 
dough,  but  after  kneading  it  is  divided  into  lumps  as 
large  as  a  woman  can  hold  in  one  fist.  These  are  set 
to  rise,  and  then  each  is  patted  out  into  a  thin  disk 
about  eight  inches  in  diameter  and  one-eighth  of  an 
inch  thick.  These  queer  loaves  when  baked  in  a  very 
hot  oven  in  close  contact  with  the  heat  puff  up  like 
"  popovers,"  and  when  cold  split  naturally  into  plate- 
like halves  which,  when  well  baked,  are  thin  and 
crusty.  This  is  the  most  convenient  form  of  bread  in 
the  world.  The  labourer  in  Syria  lays  between  the 
layers  the  cheese  and  olives  which  complete  his  meal, 
and  thrusts  the  sandwich  inside  of  his  blouse.  When 
he  eats,  he  uses  one  half  as  a  plate,  and  pieces  of  the 
other  for  a  spoon.     There  is  no  compact  American  pic- 


224         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

nic-set  which  can  compare  with  it!  An  Arab  loaf 
weighs  about  a  quarter  of  a  pound,  and  contains  suffi- 
cient nourishment  for  a  meal,  if  there  are  other  articles 
on  the  menu,  although  a  man,  or  a  boy  with  a  healthy 
appetite,  will  eat  as  many  as  five  or  six  at  a  time  if  he 
can  get  them.  About  five  thousand  loaves  were  baked 
every  day  at  the  Brumm^na  Soup-Kitchen,  and  about 
half  of  that  number  were  given  out  over  the  rail  at  the 
distribution  shed.  The  employees  received  two  loaves 
for  a  meal,  and  a  third  meal  each  day  for  themselves 
and  the  members  of  their  immediate  families,  although 
the  regular  distribution  provided  for  only  two  meals, 
morning  and  noon. 

By  far  the  most  interesting  place  behind  the  scenes 
at  the  Soup-Kitchen  was  the  stores  department.  To 
this  Mrs.  Cortass,  who  had  assisted  Dr.  Dray  from  the 
very  beginning,  held  the  keys.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
although  she  and  her  husband  had  now  several  hun- 
dred employees  under  them,  the  entire  management  of 
the  plant  was  in  their  hands — of  course  under  the  su- 
pervision of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Dray.  Wheat,  being  the 
principal  staple  of  diet,  occupied  most  of  the  space  in 
the  storehouse,  although  only  a  portion  of  the  supply 
could  be  kept  there  at  a  time,  since  the  normal  con- 
sumption of  the  Soup-Kitchen  was  about  a  quarter  of 
a  ton  a  day.  In  upper  rooms  there  were  dried  vege- 
tables, lentils,  beans,  and  potatoes,  with  onions,  peppers 
and  ochra  hanging  in  festoons  on  the  walls  and  from 
the  ceiling.  In  great  jars  standing  on  the  floor,  or  in 
smaller  crocks  locked  away  in  cupboards,  were  gallons 
of  a  salt  tomato  ketchup  used  as  seasoning  in  Syria, 


Four  Thousand  Syrians  Kept  Alive       225 

by  those  who  can  afford  it,  when  fresh  vegetables  arc 
no  longer  obtainable ;  also  salted  meat  made  from  the 
fattened  sheep.  In  the  Soup-Kitchen  these  foods 
were  necessities  rather  than  luxuries,  for  both  toma- 
toes and  meat  played  an  important  part  in  the  schedule 
of  "  balanced  rations." 

There  was  a  beautifully  clean  dairy  where  the  milk, 
cheese  and  butter  were  cared  for  and  were  prepared 
for  the  patients  in  the  hospitals,  or  the  infants  in 
the  "  babery,"  The  hospice  had  its  own  herd 
of  cattle,  and  Dr.  Dray  saw  to  it  that  the  dairy  prod- 
ucts were  handled  with  proper  scientific  care  and 
cleanliness. 

The  food  at  the  Brumm^na  Soup-Kitchen  was  pre- 
pared with  due  regard  for  food-values.  The  ingredi- 
ents included  the  essentials  of  a  wholesome  and  nutri- 
tious diet:  fats,  proteins,  acids,  salt,  and  sugar. 
Tomatoes  and  lemons  supplied  the  necessary  acid,  and 
were  calculated  particularly  to  ward  off  such  diseases 
as  scurvy.  Onions  were  provided  as  a  blood-tonic. 
Whenever  fresh  vegetables  could  be  obtained  in  the 
market  in  sufficient  quantity  and  at  a  reasonable  figure 
they  were  used  freely.  The  morning  that  I  was  there, 
instead  of  the  usual,  and  probably  monotonous,  gruel, 
eggplants  formed  the  piece  de  resistance.  These  the 
people  either  roasted  in  the  coals,  or  ate  raw  with  salt, 
and  they  were  evidently  welcomed  as  a  great  delicacy. 
The  noon  meal  usually  consisted  of  a  good,  nourishing 
stew  of  fresh  or  dried  vegetables  cooked  with  meat  and 
olive  oil.  Portions  were  ample,  and  there  was  always 
a  loaf  of  bread  with  each  portion. 


226  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

We  next  visited  the  three  hospitals,  one  for  men, 
one  for  women,  and  one  for  eye-cases,  in  which  stu- 
dent doctors  and  nurses  from  the  Syrian  Protestant 
College  gave  the  best  of  medical  treatment  to  any  pen- 
sioners of  the  Soup-Kitchen  who  were  in  need  of  spe- 
cial attention.  Dr.  Dikran  Utidjian  was  at  that  time 
the  resident  physician,  and  Dr.  Dray  is  enthusiastic  in 
praise  of  his  management  of  the  medical  department. 
Most  of  the  patients  at  the  time  when  I  was  there  were 
suffering  from  pernicious  malaria,  scabies,  dysentery, 
or  other  disorders  caused  by  malnutrition.  There  was 
also  an  appalling  number  of  cases  of  ophthalmia,  com- 
monly known  in  Syria  as  "  sore  eyes."  There  was 
also  an  emergency  case  that  morning.  Two  of  the 
wood-cutters  had  got  into  a  fight,  and  one  had  received 
a  deep  gash  across  the  palm  of  his  hand  which  necessi- 
tated several  stitches.  I  wondered  what  the  penalty 
for  this  misconduct  would  be,  and  was  told  that  both 
contestants  would  be  "  laid  off  "  for  a  week,  and  would 
consequently  fast  and  have  ample  time  to  repent  of 
their  sins. 

Last  of  all  we  visited  the  three  shelters,  for  girls, 
boys,  and  babies.  In  each  of  the  first  two  there  were 
from  forty  to  sixty  children.  Not  only  did  they  sleep 
and  eat  in  the  shelters,  but  they  attended  classes, 
graded  according  to  their  abilities,  exercised  in  out-of- 
door  play  and  gymnastic  drill,  and  employed  their 
leisure  time  in  industrial  occupations.  The  girls  spun 
wool,  or  made  it  up  into  caps,  sweaters,  stockings  or 
dresses  for  themselves  or  their  younger  brothers  and 
sisters.     The  boys  learned  carpentry  and  masonry  so 


Four  Thousand  Syrians  Kept  Alive       227 

thoroughly  that  they  were  able  to  build  the  stone  house 
that  later  was  used  as  a  kitchen. 

One  of  the  most  touching  sights  of  that  visit  I  saw 
at  noon  in  the  boys*  hospice.  The  lunch  of  vegetable 
stew  and  Arab  bread  had  been  spread  on  long  settles, 
and  the  children  under  the  leadership  of  a  teacher  filed 
silently  into  the  room,  each  standing  before  his  own 
steaming  plate.  And  then,  before  a  spoon  was  lifted, 
each  bowed  his  head;  and  these  same  children  who 
would  have  fought  each  other  like  savages  at  the  mere 
sight  of  food  a  few  months  earlier,  and  who  would 
have  devoured  it  without  delay,  repeated  in  unison  the 
Arabic  words  of  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

Before  we  went  to  our  own  luncheon,  we  stopped  to 
see  the  distribution  of  wool  to  the  women  workers,  and 
the  examination  of  the  finished  products.  The  care 
with  which  this  department  is  checked  gives  a  hint  of 
the  many  possibilities  of  leakage,  but  thanks  to  the 
Syrian  assistants  who  knew  their  own  people  well 
enough  to  predict  in  what  directions  they  might  be 
tempted,  and  thanks  also  to  Mrs.  Dray's  shrewdness, 
this  department  was  conducted  with  little  or  no  loss, 
and  with  enormous  benefit  to  the  employees.  The 
wool  was  assigned  to  the  workers  by  weight,  in  quan- 
tities sufficient  to  make  a  specified  article.  Each  day 
the  worker  brought  her  work  to  headquarters  for  in- 
spection; and  the  garment,  as  far  as  she  had  proceeded, 
together  with  the  wool  still  remaining,  was  weighed  and 
checked  with  the  amount  originally  assigned.  I  won- 
dered to  see  the  superintendent  run  a  knitting  needle 
through  the  ball  of  yam,  but  Mrs.  Dray  whispered  to 


228         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

me  that  one  woman  had  been  caught  stealing  wool,  and 
substituting  a  stone  to  make  up  the  necessary  weight. 
The  finished  articles,  when  accepted,  were  turned  in 
and  the  worker  received  a  ticket  which  entitled  her  to 
extra  food-allowance  in  lieu  of  wages.  The  hospice 
was  very  proud  of  the  fact  that  the  most  skillful  spin- 
ner in  the  whole  establishment  was  a  little  boy  five 
years  old ! 

This  work  of  Dr.  Dray  was  begun  in  the  summer  of 
1916  and  was  continued  for  thirty  months  until  the 
American  Red  Cross  arrived  in  November,  1918,  a 
month  after  the  British  occupation,  to  take  over  all  the 
relief -work  in  Syria.  The  list  of  beneficiaries  included 
not  only  residents  of  Brumm^na  and  adjacent  villages, 
but  also  the  inhabitants  of  more  than  fifty  other  small 
towns  in  the  vicinity.  Some  of  the  pensioners  came 
up  daily  from  Mansuriyeh,  about  two  hours  further 
down  the  mountain;  and  the  only  survivors  of  that  vil- 
lage to-day  (about  one-fifth  of  the  original  popula- 
tion) are  those  whom  Dr.  Dray  saved  either  in  the 
Brumm^na  Soup-Kitchen  or  by  the  distribution  of 
funds  in  the  village.  Later,  as  the  representatives 
from  outlying  villages  became  more  numerous,  ar- 
rangements were  made  to  send  the  portion  for  each  to 
a  center  in  the  village,  thus  saving  the  inhabitants  of 
more  distant  places  a  daily  tramp  of  several  weary 
hours  through  the  mountains.  People  came  to  Brum- 
m^na  from  all  over  the  country  in  the  hope  of  obtain- 
ing assistance;  and  if  there  were  any  chance  of  being 
enrolled  on  the  Soup-Kitchen  list,  they  camped  in  the 
vicinity.    The  fame  of  the  Muta'am,  as  the  Syrians 


Four  Thousand  Syrians  Kept  Alive       229 

called  it,  was  published  throughout  the  land,  and  starv- 
ing people  came  a  great  distance  to  petition  for  enroll- 
ment. Every  pauper  in  Syria  seemed  to  believe  that, 
if  only  he  were  in  Brumm^-na,  he  too  would  be  fed; 
and  pilgrims  from  distant  villages  who  could  not  be 
included  in  the  already  over-large  list  died  on  the  hills 
about  the  town. 

During  the  thirty  months  that  Dr.  Dray  was  in 
charge  of  this  work  about  four  thousand  two  hundred 
individuals  received  assistance  for  a  period  of  at  least 
two  months.  Another  sixteen  hundred  might  be  reck- 
oned in  this  total,  if  one  counted  those  who  had  re- 
ceived help  for  less  than  two  months.  About  seven- 
teen hundred  was  the  maximum  number  that  was  fed 
at  any  one  time.  More  than  fifty  villages  were  repre- 
sented. Nine-tenths  of  the  number  were  children  and 
the  rest  women.  Perhaps  a  score  of  men  were  paid 
with  food  for  their  labour  about  the  premises.  The 
total  sum  expended  for  the  Brumm^na  work  was  ap- 
proximately $180,000  for  the  thirty  months,  an  aver- 
age of  about  $105  per  capita.  Considering  the  price 
of  foodstuffs  in  Syria  during  the  war,  this  is  a  truly 
remarkable  record.  Wheat  alone,  during  the  later 
months  of  the  war,  was  sold  in  the  open  market  for 
more  than  $1,000  a  ton,  and  Dr.  Dray*s  success  with  the 
limited  sum  at  his  disposal  is  little  short  of  a  miracle. 

The  first  contributions  that  Dr.  Dray  received  for 
his  relief-work  in  Brumm^na  were  items  of  $15,  $30, 
and  $Y5  respectively,  that  were  given  him  by  Mr.  Dana 
from  a  private  fund  left  with  him  for  special  cases  that 
he  might  wish  to  help.     Later,  when  the  work  was  orr 


230         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

ganized  on  a  sound  basis  and  bade  fair  to  be  a  success, 
he  was  regularly  supplied  by  Mr.  Dana  and  Mr.  Erd- 
man  from  relief-funds.  A  private  contribution  of 
about  $20,000  was  raised  also  among  certain  wealthy 
Syrians  in  Beirut.  Although  the  Brummilna  Hospice 
and  Soup-Kitchen  may,  therefore,  be  claimed  by  the 
American  Mission  as  one  of  its  relief  projects,  the  full 
credit  for  its  management  belongs  to  Dr.  Dray.  The 
idea  originated  with  him,  and  he  contributed  largely 
toward  its  maintenance  from  his  own  pocket,  and  even 
more  lavishly  from  his  time.  He  devoted  three  entire 
summer-vacations  to  this  work ;  and  during  the  winter, 
while  he  was  occupied  in  Beirut  with  his  collegiate 
duties,  he  walked  many  times  each  month  up  to  Brum- 
m^na  to  make  sure  that  things  were  running  smoothly. 
During  the  winter  of  1916,  when  he  himself  could  not 
be  on  the  spot  all  the  time,  Professor  William  H.  Hall 
of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College,  who  was  temporarily 
relieved  of  his  teaching  responsibilities,  took  up  his 
residence  in  Brumm^na  to  supervise  the  work.  The 
following  winter  (1917-18)  Rev.  William  A.  Freid- 
inger  of  the  American  Mission  was  released  by  Leba- 
non Station  in  order  that  he  might  carry  on  the  work 
which  Mr.  Hall  had  so  ably  conducted  the  previous 
year.  During  the  whole  of  the  thirty  months  of  its 
existence,  however,  the  BrummAna  work  was  Dr. 
Dray's  special  responsibility,  and  he  was  the  only 
director  whom  the  government  officials  would  recog- 
nize. Hence  it  fell  to  him  to  make  all  the  necessary 
arrangements  in  connection  with  procuring  supplies,  or 
dealing  otherwise  with  the  Turkish  officials. 


Four  Thousand  Syrians  Kept  Alive        231 

In  addition  to  Mr.  Hall  and  Mr.  Freidinger,  Dr. 
Dray  was  fortunate  in  his  associates.  His  Syrian  as- 
sistants were  indefatigable  in  their  efforts  for  the  suc- 
cess of  the  enterprise,  and  all  who  profited  by  the  relief 
owe  a  special  debt  of  gratitude  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cor- 
tass,  who  bore  a  large  share  of  the  responsibility  of  the 
management.  Dr.  Utidjian  and  his  assistants  in  the 
hospitals  have  already  been  mentioned,  and  there  were 
many  other  loyal  helpers  who  contributed  generously 
to  the  success  of  the  work. 

After  the  occupation  Dr.  Dray  transferred  his  relief 
unit  over  to  the  American  Red  Cross,  which,  in  turn, 
handed  it  over  to  the  Syria  and  Palestine  Relief  Fund. 
The  orphanage  has  been  continued,  but  it  is  a  consid^ 
erable  disappointment  to  Dr.  Dray,  and  to  those  inter- 
ested in  his  work,  that  the  flourishing  industrial  de- 
partment has  been  abandoned.  This  great  enterprise 
has  to-day  dwindled  to  insignificant  proportions;  and 
the  Brumm^na  work,  once  famous  all  over  Syria,  is 
now  of  no  special  interest  or  importance. 

It  was  a  peculiar  fact  that  the  very  government  offi- 
cials who  were  most  determinedly  bent  on  exterminat- 
ing the  Syrian  people  vied  with  each  other  in  their  pat- 
ronage of  the  Brumm^na  Relief- Work.  Jemal  Pasha 
regarded  this  work  as  his  own  special  protege,  and  the 
Governor  of  Beirut,  not  to  be  outdone  by  his  great 
rival,  was  also  pleased  to  favour  it.  Tahsin  Bey,  Gov- 
ernor of  Damascus,  from  whose  district  most  of  the 
wheat  used  in  Brumm^na  was  purchased,  and  Ali 
Munif,  and  his  successor,  Ismail  Hakki  Bey,  the  Gov- 
ernors of  Lebanon,  also  visited  and  commended  the 


232  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

work.  On  one  occasion  three  Governors  of  Turkish 
provinces  made  a  special  trip  to  visit  the  work  and 
consented  to  be  photographed  with  certain  members  of 
the  relief-staff.  This  visit  of  these  three  Governors 
marks  a  great  event  in  the  history  of  the  Brummana 
Soup-Kitchen. 

There  were  many  other  soup-kitchens  and  hospices 
under  American  management  in  Syria,  in  various  dis- 
tricts in  Lebanon,  and  in  Tripoli  and  Sidon.  Most  of 
these  were  patterned  after  Dr.  Dray's  model,  and 
therefore  need  not  be  described  in  detail.  In  the 
Sidon  district  a  soup-kitchen  was  organized  and  man- 
aged by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stuart  D.  Jessup.  This  pro- 
vided for  one  hundred  and  fifty  children  throughout 
the  winter  of  1916-17.  Four  sub-kitchens  in  outlying 
districts  were  later  established  and  superintended  by 
other  members  of  the  American  Mission  in  Sidon,  thus 
increasing  the  number  of  beneficiaries  to  about  four 
hundred. 

V  In  Suk-el-Gharb,  Lebanon,  Mr.  George  Scherer  con- 
ducted another  soup-kitchen  along  similar  lines,  and 
during  the  last  two  years  of  the  war  it  is  estimated 
that  he  provided  for  about  three  thousand  people,  the 
majority  of  whom  were  children. 

Mr.  Bayard  Dodge  of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College, 
previously  mentioned  as  a  member  of  the  Red  Cross 
Executive  Committee,  and  now  a  member  of  the  Per- 
manent Committee  for  American  Relief  in  Syria,  sup- 
ported about  twelve  thousand  individuals  from  funds 
that  he  personally  contributed.  His  central  kitchen 
was  in  'Abeih,  Lebanon,  which  supplied  scores  of  yil- 


Four  Thousand  Syrians  Kept  Alive       233 

lages  in  the  district ;  and  he  had  extensive  charitable  in- 
terests in  other  localities.  There  is  a  cluster  of  pic- 
turesque villages  perched  on  the  steep  mountain- 
side back  of  Shemlan  which  to-day  owe  their  very 
existence  to  Mr.  "  Dudj,"  and  any  one  who  knew  the 
history  of  American  relief  in  Syria  might  point  out 
to  the  traveller  dozens  of  other  towns  which  he  has 
saved. 

It  need  not  be  explained  that  such  extensive  relief 
activities  required  not  only  a  tremendous  financial 
backing,  but  also  enormous  purchases  of  supplies,  espe- 
cially wheat.  How  the  American  Mission  expended 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  in  relief,  believing 
that  it  would, one  day  be  reimbursed  by  the  relief  socie- 
ties in  America,  and  how  that  faith  was  soon  justified 
by  the  announcement  of  a  regular  monthly  appropria- 
tion from  the  Armenian  and  Syrian  Relief  Committee 
has  already  been  described.  The  tale  of  the  way  in 
which  the  necessary  supplies  were  secured  would  con- 
stitute a  chapter  in  itself,  and  a  thrilling  one  at  that, 
but  there  is  no  space  here  to  describe  it  in  detail.  In 
the  summer  of  1917  these  purchases  for  relief- work 
became  so  large  that  the  Government  grew  alarmed  and 
determined  to  put  a  stop  to  such  extensive  activities. 
The  Vdli  of  Beirut  arrested  Mr.  Dana,  who  was  direct- 
ing the  relief-work  in  Syria,  and  ordered  his  deporta- 
tion. Later  in  Constantinople  Mr.  Dana  was  accused 
of  acting  as  the  agent  of  the  enemy  in  the  purchase  of 
supplies  in  preparation  for  an  enemy  advance.  This 
was  the  first  intimation  that  he  received  as  to  the  form 
of  the  trumped-up  charge  against  hirtu    Fortunately 


234         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

there  were  able  successors  to  carry  on  the  relief  pro- 
gram which  he  had  instituted,  and  the  work  proceeded 
without  further  interruption  until  the  British  occupa- 
tion of  Syria  less  than  a  year  later. 


XIV 

THE  DEPORTATION  AND  IMPRISONMENT 

OF  THE  DIRECTOR  OF  AMERICAN 

RELIEF  IN  SYRIA 

THERE  is  only  one  thing  of  which  you  can 
always  be  sure  in  Turkey — that  the  unex- 
pected will  certainly  happen.  The  summer 
of  1917  was,  on  the  surface,  uneventful,  yet  we  felt  all 
the  time  that  something  would  surely  occur ;  and  when 
the  actual  crash  came,  it  seemed  more  or  less  the  ex- 
pected thing.  Practically  all  the  Americans  left  Beirut 
for  the  mountains  that  summer.  There  was  little 
coming  and  going  between  the  city  and  the  various 
mountain  homes  because  conveyances  were  few  and 
prohibitive  in  price.  We  had  scarcely  any  excite- 
ments, save  watching  an  occasional  aeroplane  bomb  the 
city,  or  seeing  British  cruisers  shell  the  German  benzine 
depot  near  the  port.  We  heard  constant  rumours  of  a 
possible  landing  on  the  coast.  There  seemed,  in  that 
event,  little  likelihood  of  an  advance  being  made  into 
the  mountains,  which  were  somewhat  fortified,  and,  in 
1917,  contained  a  number  of  troops.  However  wel- 
come an  invasion  would  have  been,  we  might  have 
found  ourselves  cut  off  from  friends  and  funds  in 
Beirut,  in  which  case  we  should  have  had  the  choice  of 

835 


236        The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

trying  to  run  the  gauntlet  into  the  Entente  lines,  or  of 
facing  indefinite  isolatiorx  on  the  Turkish  side.  This 
thought  provided  food  for  speculation  for  those  who 
cared  to  indulge  in  it.  However,  the  summer  passed 
quietly. 

The  autumn  was  an  unusually  mild  one,  and  we  de- 
cided to  stay  in  *Aleih  where  we  had  been  spending  the 
summer  until  after  Thanksgiving  Day,  November 
29th.  It  is  futile,  however,  in  Turkey,  to  plan  for 
more  than  a  day  ahead.  On  November  19th,  immedi- 
ately upon  his  return  to  Beirut  after  a  week-end  visit 
in  'Aleih,  Mr.  Dana  was  arrested  by  six  policemen. 
Our  house  was  searched,  and  all  papers  were  confis- 
cated. The  Press  safes  and  files  were  likewise  exam- 
ined. Mr.  Dana  was  then  imprisoned  in  his  own 
house.  Friends  in  Beirut  warned  us  not  to  try  to  com- 
municate with  him;  but  fortunately  his  Syrian  secre- 
tary, under  the  pretext  of  bringing  him  food,  acted  as 
messenger  for  the  exchange  of  tiny  notes  and  verbal 
communications  during  the  week's  imprisonment. 
Saturday  night,  after  six  days  of  suspense,  we  received 
the  joyful  news  that  Mr.  Dana's  papers  had  been  ex- 
amined by  the  police  and  pronounced  innocuous.  We 
assumed  that  he  would  be  released  without  further 
delay.  On  Sunday  morning,  however.  Professor 
Crawford  brought  us  word  that,  although  Mr.  Dana 
had  been  liberated  from  immediate  confinement,  he 
had  been  sentenced  to  exile  from  Syria.  It  was  left  to 
his  choice  whether  his  family  should  accompany  him; 
and  although  he  had  not  decided  whether  it  would  be 
advisable  to  take  us,  he  asked  us  to  return  to  Beirut 


Deportation  and  Imprisonment  237 

with  the  least  possible  delay.  After  three  hours  of 
feverish  packing  and  dismantling  the  house  we  left  for 
the  city. 

When  Mr.  Dana  was  arrested,  we  had  feared  the 
worst;  and  a  mere  deportation  under  liberal  restric- 
tions was  a  distinct  relief.  Azmi  Bey  had  positively 
refused  to  give  any  reasons  for  his  action.  His  only 
comment  was:  "  You  have  many  enemies."  The  chief 
among  them  was  doubtless  then  sitting  in  Azmi's  own 
chair.  The  Prefect  of  Police,  Mukhtar  Bey,  when 
asked  by  the  Governor  to  sign  Mr.  Dana's  deportation 
order,  expressed  great  surprise,  because  he  said  the 
police  had  found  no  charge  against  Mr.  Dana,  and  he 
knew  no  cause  for  his  deportation.  What  the  full 
truth  of  the  affair  was  we  did  not  learn  until  seven 
months  later  in  Constantinople. 

Mr.  Dana  asked  for  a  week  in  which  to  arrange  his 
business  affairs,  but  Azmi  replied,  "  You  may  have 
three  days."  The  American  remembered  that  on  the 
fourth  day  Jemal  Pasha  was  expected  in  town,  and  he 
suspected  that  Azmi  wished  to  leave  him  no  oppor- 
tunity of  appealing  to  the  Pasha  for  a  reversal  of  the 
unreasonable  sentence.  Then  followed  hectic  days  of 
preparation.  Mr.  Dana  was  forced  to  devote  all  his 
time  to  business  afifairs,  and  scarcely  stopped  to  eat,  or 
to  see  the  scores  of  callers  who  came  to  say  good-bye 
or  to  help  us  in  our  preparations. 

At  four  o'clock  on  Thanksgiving  morning,  after 
only  an  hour's  sleep,  and  while  it  was  still  dark,  we  left 
our  home  to  return  we  knew  not  when.  Our  party 
consisted  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dana,  three-year-old  Dor- 


238         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

othy,  myself,  and  the  servant,  who  had  elected  to  share 
our  fortunes.  We  had  to  condense  our  winter-cloth- 
ing, bedding,  and  food  into  baggage  which  we  could 
ourselves  carry  if  need  be.  Our  immediate  destination 
was  Konia  in  the  heart  of  Anatolia,  with  the  possibility 
of  Constantinople  or  Smyrna  as  a  permanent  residence. 
Our  journey  from  Beirut  to  Constantinople  was  pro- 
longed to  nearly  two  months.  It  is  a  tale  by  itself 
with  many  amusing  and  many  trying  incidents. 

The  train-service  over  Lebanon  was  closed  to  civil- 
ians, so  we  left  Beirut  in  a  German  freight-lorry, 
perched  on  top  of  our  baggage.  After  a  series  of  de- 
lays we  reached  Reyak,  the  junction  with  the  Aleppo 
railroad.  The  journey  which  should  have  taken  five 
hours  at  the  most  had  occupied  thirteen,  with  a  climate 
that  varied  from  an  Indian-summer  day  to  a  cold  win- 
ter night.  At  Reyak  there  was  no  hotel,  only  shelter 
from  the  bitter  wind  in  a  tiny,  unfurnished  shack,  in- 
tended, so  we  were  told,  as  a  rest-house  for  Turkish 
officers*  wives!  The  next  morning  we  were  greatly 
relieved  to  find  that  a  freight-train  would  leave  for 
Aleppo  before  noon,  so  we  crawled  into  an  empty  box- 
car and  set  up  light  housekeeping.  A  freight-car,  if 
you  can  have  one  reserved  for  your  party,  is  far  pref- 
erable in  Turkey  to  the  crowded,  unsanitary  passenger- 
coaches,  and  we  realized  for  the  first  time  the  luxuries 
of  real  "  hobo  "  life  in  a  "  side-door  Pullman." 

Dorothy's  illness  from  exposure  and  our  need  of 
purchasing  supplies  for  the  rest  of  the  journey  delayed 
us  for  a  week  in  Aleppo,  so  that  it  was  ten  days  after 
we  had  left  Beirut  before  we  were  again  en  route. 


Deportation  and  Imprisonment  239 

We  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  finding  places  on  the 
north-bound  train,  but  were  happy  and  comfortable  for 
twelve  hours  in  our  hard-won  quarters.  At  half-past 
nine  at  night  the  police  removed  us  from  the  train  at 
Marmoureh,  a  little  village  high  in  the  Amanus  Moun- 
tains. We  were  taken  through  ankle-deep  mud  and 
pouring  rain  to  the  police  station,  where  our  permits 
were  examined  and  our  hand-baggage  thoroughly 
searched.  Our  heavy  baggage  escaped  the  overhaul- 
ing as  we  had  checked  it  tlirough  to  Kelibek.  The 
train  had  gone  on  without  us,  and  as  there  was  no  other 
due  until  the  next  morning  we  were  kept  all  night  in 
the  police  station  where  we  tried  without  success  to 
sleep  on  the  hard  chairs.  The  only  one  who  slept  at 
all  occupied  the  top  of  the  commissaire's  office-table. 
The  next  morning  we  huddled  into  a  car  on  a  freight- 
train  bound  for  Adana,  where  we  rested  two  days 
with  the  missionaries  then  resident  in  the  American 
School.  There  were  only  three  in  the  city  at  that  time, 
Dr.  Cyril  H.  Haas,  Miss  Towner,  and  Miss  Davies. 
We  left  Adana  two  mornings  later  at  the  unholy  hour 
of  two  o'clock ;  and  in  the  darkness  and  scramble,  our 
food-bag  and  kerosene  stove  were  stolen.  We  had 
almost  despaired  of  finding  places  on  the  train  when 
some  German  soldiers  invited  us  to  share  their  accom- 
modations in  a  Red  Cross  car.  These  soldiers,  one  of 
whom  was  an  American  citizen  caught  in  Germany  at 
the  beginning  of  the  war  and  forced  into  the  army, 
proved  very  friendly,  and  helped  us  at  Kelibek  to  se- 
cure places  in  the  Taurus  narrow-gauge  train.  We 
were  lucky  in  the  weather  that  we  encountered  on  the 


240         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Taurus  trip.  It  was  a  lovely,  winter  day,  and  the 
beautiful  ride  through  the  mountains  made  up  for 
many  hardships. 

When  we  reached  Karapounar,  the  northern  termi- 
nus of  the  great  Taurus  tunnel,  we  found  that  traffic 
toward  Konia  had  been  greatly  congested  by  heavy 
blizzards  along  the  line.  The  town  was  crowded  with 
a  four  days'  accumulation  of  travellers,  and  there  was 
no  hotel.  We  were  fortunate  enough  to  find  places 
for  the  night  in  the  Soldatenheim,  where  we  were 
tolerated  because  we  had  a  small  child  with  us, 
but  were  treated  with  scant  courtesy.  The  ground 
was  covered  with  snow,  and  that  night  was  bitterly 
cold. 

The  next  day  there  was  a  north-bound  train,  but  it 
could  not  begin  to  accommodate  the  hundreds  who 
gathered  with  their  baggage  at  the  station.  We  fought 
our  way  through  an  ugly  crowd  into  a  third-class  car, 
the  only  one  into  which  we  could  penetrate.  How- 
ever, we  were  too  glad  to  escape  from  Karapounar  to 
grumble  at  our  accommodations.  Half  an  hour  later, 
at  Bozanti,  we  were  again  taken  to  the  police  station 
for  examination  of  our  permits  and  baggage.  At 
every  turn  one  had  to  show  permits,  and  ours  were  al- 
ways scrutinized  with  extra  care.  A  two-hour  stop 
was  made  there,  but  that  time  was  barely  sufficient  for 
the  police  formalities,  and  we  only  just  got  back  into 
our  places  before  the  train  started. 

About  twelve  hours  later  we  ran  into  a  blizzard,  and 
at  daybreak  found  that  our  train  was  stalled  on  a  bleak, 
wind-swept  plateau,  near  Karaman,  with  snow  two  feet 


Deportation  and  Imprisonment  241 

deep.  We  were  delayed  forty-five  hours,  just  three 
hours  south  of  Konia.  All  watering  stations  along  the 
line  were  frozen  solid.  The  weather  ranged  between 
thirty-two  and  twenty  degrees  below  zero.  The  train 
was  unheated.  We  had  lost  our  stove  and  most  of 
our  provisions,  and  we  lived  on  sweet  chocolate  and 
cookies  for  several  meals.  The  last  evening  we  were 
grateful  for  the  gift  of  some  frozen  boiled  potatoes 
which  a  Greek  family  traded  with  us  for  drinking 
water,  with  which  we  were  well  supplied.  The  morn- 
ing of  the  first  day  after  we  were  storm-bound,  we  saw 
the  stiffened  corpses  of  nine  people  carried  out  of  the 
train  and  thrown  into  an  open  coal-car.  There  was 
one  German  soldier,  several  Turkish  soldiers,  and  some 
Moslem  women  and  children.  The  second  morning 
the  pile  in  the  coal-car  was  increased  by  eleven  (two 
from  our  own  car),  and  the  third  morning  twelve  were 
added,  making  a  total  of  thirty-two.  As  we  watched 
those  ghastly  processions  during  those  three  days,  it 
was  a  question  in  our  minds  how  soon  one  of  us  would 
suffer  the  same  fate. 

The  thirty-hour  trip  from  Adana  to  Konia  took  us 
in  all  six  days,  during  which  time  we  never  had  our 
coats  off,  or  lay  down  for  a  single  night.  We  had  only 
two  warm  meals.  We  dared  not  face  the  risk  of  en- 
during more  cold  on  the  bleak  plateau  beyond  Konia, 
so  we  decided  to  break  our  journey  at  that  point.  It 
was  well  that  we  did  this,  for  we  were  all  ill  with  heavy 
colds,  and  Dorothy's  developed  into  pneumonia.  Had 
it  not  been  for  the  kindness  of  Miss  Cushman,  an 
American  missionary  who  took  us  into  her  home,  I  do 


242  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

not  believe  that  the  little  girl  would  have  won  in  the 
fight  that  she  made  for  her  life.  We  spent  more  than 
a  month  at  Konia,  a  picturesque  and  typically  Turkish 
town,  and  we  had  there  our  only  glimpse  into  the  real 
life  of  the  interior  of  Anatolia.  We  had  also  the 
pleasure  of  meeting  Mr.  Dana's  assistant  in  the  Press, 
Mr.  Henry  Glockler,  who  was  a  British  interned  civil- 
ian in  Bey  Chehir,  and  who  had  obtained  permission  to 
visit  us  for  a  few  days. 

Five  weeks  after  our  arrival  at  Konia  we  were  again 
on  our  way.  The  rest  of  the  trip  occupied  only  three 
days,  and  was  luxurious  compared  with  our  previous 
experiences  in  travel,  for  we  had  a  cushioned  compart- 
ment all  to  ourselves.  Our  greatest  asset  was  a  neat, 
new  travelling  permit,  secured  from  the  Vdli  of  Konia 
who,  being  a  special  enemy  of  Azmi  Bey,  was  pleased 
to  thwart  him  by  disguising  the  fact  that  we  were 
exiles.  This  ruse  helped  us  to  evade  the  Constanti- 
nople police,  who,  for  six  months,  were  unable  to  locate 
the  dangerous  characters  from  Beirut.  We  heard 
from  friends  of  their  repeated  efforts  to  trace  us  both 
in  Konia  and  in  the  Capital. 

We  reached  the  Haidar  Pasha  terminus  of  the  Ana- 
tolian Railway  late  on  a  Saturday  night,  but  could  not 
leave  the  train  until  early  the  next  morning,  January 
20th,  when  we  crossed  the  Bosphorus  and  entered  the 
Capital.  We  had  been  just  fifty-two  days  from  the 
time  we  left  Beirut,  although  in  point  of  actual  miles 
the  journey  is  not  much  further  than  from  New  York 
to  Omaha !  No  wonder,  after  the  dreary  weeks  in  the 
interior,  that,  when  we  first  saw  the  Marmora,  like 


Deportation  and  Imprisonment  243 

Xenophon's  men,  we  wanted  to  shout,  "  The  sea,  the 
sea!" 

I  fear  that  our  first  impressions  of  Constantinople 
were  merely  relevant  to  creature  comforts.  On  our 
drive  from  the  ferry  to  the  hotel  we  were  thrilled  with 
the  sensation  of  being  again  in  a  real  metropolis  with 
tall  buildings  and  big  shops.  There  seemed  an  amaz- 
ing amount  of  meat,  vegetables,  fruits,  and — rarer  still 
to  our  recent  experience — candies  and  cakes.  Months 
later,  remembering  those  first  hours  in  the  city,  we  felt 
sympathy  for  some  German  soldiers  who  were  coming 
along  the  Grande  Rue  de  Pera.  They  had  evidently 
just  arrived  on  the  Balkanzug  from  Germany.  One  of 
them  hailed  excitedly  a  friend  on  the  other  side  of  the 
street:  **^Ach,  Fritz,  Fritz!  Komm*  'mal  her.  Ach, 
die  Kuchen,  die  Kuchen!  "  (Fritz,  Fritz,  come  here. 
Oh  tl^  cakes,  the  cakes!)  Constantinople  was  spe- 
cially favoured  in  these  respects  because  public  senti- 
ment was  so  strong  against  the  war  that  the  Germans 
and  the  Turks  found  it  necessary  to  keep  the  city  well 
provisioned  in  order  to  avoid  possible  revolutionary 
protests  from  the  pacifists. 

The  ruthless  extravagance  of  the  Constantinople 
population,  especially  the  newly-rich,  was  something 
appalling.  Those  who  had  money  squandered  it  in  a 
most  shameless  fashion,  and  the  merchants  were  not 
slow  to  take  advantage  of  this  spendthrift  spirit.  Silk 
gloves  and  stockings  imported  from  Vienna  sold  at  $10 
to  $15  a  pair.  Cakes  at  $8  a  pound,  chocolates  at  $25 
a  pound,  and  shoes  of  native  manufacture  at  $75  a 
pair.    An  after-theatre  supper  for,  four  persons,  with 


244         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

sandwiches,  wine  and  champagne,  cost  $500,  and  the 
waiter's  tip  in  proportion ! 

When  we  presented  ourselves  at  Tokatlian's  Hotel 
in  Pera,  the  Management  hesitated  before  assigning 
us  rooms,  such  a  bedraggled,  unshorn  appearance  did 
we  all  present.  For  days  after  our  arrival  we  revelled 
in  the  rejuvenation  produced  by  hot  water,  steam- 
heated  rooms,  delicious  meals,  and  the  mere  enjoy- 
ment of  life  in  a  cosmopolitan  center.  We  felt  our- 
selves in  touch  with  the  world  again  through  daily 
papers,  even  if  they  represented  only  the  German  view- 
point. It  was  good  to  be  in  a  metropolis  once  more. 
Yet  it  never  really  seemed  the  Constantinople  that  we 
had  pictured  either  in  memory  or  in  imagination.  To 
Marion  Crawford,  to  Pierre  Loti,  to  the  scores  of  peo- 
ple who  have  known  and  written  about  the  city,  it 
was  something  different.  In  their  day,  the  old  bazaars 
with  their  blue  and  gold  ceilings  were  gay  with  silks, 
rugs,  embroideries,  and  pottery.  The  people  them- 
selves were  clad  in  fanciful  colours;  veiled  women  in 
many-hued  silk  wraps,  and  men  with  red  fezzes,  green 
or  white  turbans,  and  bright  silk  belts.  Greeks, 
Georgians,  Montenegrins,  Croats  in  their  striking  na- 
tional garb,  jostled  one  another  on  the  Galata  Bridge, 
the  main  artery  of  the  city.  The  harbour  and  the 
Golden  Horn  were  crowded  with  gay-coloured  craft. 
The  city,  piled  on  the  hills  on  either  side,  was  touched 
with  every  tint  that  the  soul  of  an  artist  could  desire. 
Altogether  Constantinople  of  the  past  left  the  impres- 
sion of  something  distinctly  unique  and  colourful. 

Not  so  in  the  years  of  the  war.     The  bazaars  of 


Deportation  and  Imprisonment  245 

Stamboul  had  been  damaged  by  fire,  and  but  few 
brightly  decorated  parts  remained,  while  all  were  woe- 
fully bereft  of  picturesque  wares.  They  were  still  in- 
teresting, but  almost  too  unsanitary  from  the  presence 
of  second-hand  goods  exposed  for  sale  to  let  one  risk 
many  visits.  There  were  very  few  mysterious,  veiled 
women  in  loose  outer  garments  of  silk.  In  fact,  a  sur- 
prising number  of  Moslem  women  had  discarded  the 
veil  entirely.  The  prevailing  colour  in  the  crowds  was 
a  dirty  brown,  black  or  gray.  Brown  was  the  general 
effect  of  the  shoddy  Turkish  uniforms.  Black  was 
the  sombre  costumes  of  the  women,  with  the  short 
cape,  or  charshaf,  over  the  head  and  shoulders;  or  the 
fezzes  of  the  men,  dyed  dark  for  mourning.  Gray 
was  the  German  and  Austrian  uniforms.  The  garb  of 
all  harmonized  and  blended  with  the  prevailing  fog 
and  general  wretchedness  of  the  city.  Every  fourth 
person  who  passed  our  hotel  was  a  soldier.  The  Ger- 
mans were  very  much  in  evidence,  and  the  Turks  made 
no  secret  of  their  jealousy  and  hatred  of  them.  The 
Austrians  were  less  overbearing  in  manner,  and  were 
on  better  terms  with  their  Oriental  allies.  A  short  visit 
which  Emperor  Charles  and  Empress  Rita  made  to 
Constantinople  in  the  early  summer  further  cemented 
this  cordial  feeling.  The  populace  gave  them  an 
enthusiastic  welcome  and  was  charmed  by  their 
gracious  simplicity  of  bearing. 

Save  for  the  foreign  element,  the  average  crowd  in 
Constantinople  was  stunted  in  size  and  most  depress- 
ingly  depraved  in  appearance.  The  whole  city  was 
ill-kempt,  and  poorly  administered.     Even  its  monu- 


246         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

ments  of  the  past,  the  fine  mosques,  adapted  from  early 
Christian  churches,  which  are  its  only  glory  so  far  as 
public  buildings  are  concerned,  were  desecrated  by  the 
filthy  hordes  of  Turkish  soldiers  who  were  quartered 
in  them. 

This  is  a  pessimistic  picture  of  the  Capital,  but  it 
was  true  only  so  far  as  the  hand  of  the  Turk  rested 
upon  it  in  the  last  days  of  the  struggle  of  a  dying 
Empire.  The  physical  beauty  of  its  location  can  never 
be  wholly  marred  by  the  hand  of  man,  and  is  its  re- 
deeming feature  now  that  the  glory  of  the  past  has 
faded.  Nature  has  done  her  utmost  to  make  up  for 
the  deficiencies  of  the  Turks;  especially  in  the  matter 
of  flowers  she  has  been  lavish,  and  she  has  seemed  to 
single  out  the  most  shabby  and  ramshackle  buildings  to 
support  masses  of  wistaria  which,  in  early  summer, 
glorify  even  the  dingiest  quarter  of  the  city. 

In  early  spring  we  moved  from  the  city  to  Con- 
stantinople College,  where  Mr.  Dana  had  been  asked 
to  act  as  Treasurer.  This  institution,  formerly  known 
as  the  American  College  for  Girls,  occupies  a  wonder- 
ful site  above  the  village  of  Arnaoutkeuy,  on  the  upper 
Bosphorus,  about  an  hour  by  tram  from  the  heart  of 
Constantinople.  Its  exceptionally  beautiful  and  well- 
equipped  buildings  are  situated  on  a  charming  campus. 
Mr.  Dana  spent  part  of  his  time  in  the  College,  and  the 
remainder  in  the  city  attending  to  whatever  affairs  of 
the  Mission  and  Press  he  could  manage  from  a  dis- 
tance. Through  our  association  with  the  Girls'  Col- 
lege, and  through  Mr.  Dana's  interests  in  the  city  we 
became  acquainted  with  a  great  many  interesting  peo- 


Deportation  and  Imprisonment  247 

pie.  In  Robert  College,  also,  and  the  American  Mis- 
sion we  soon  found  congenial  friends,  many  of  whom, 
like  ourselves,  were,  through  the  fortunes  of  war,  only- 
temporary  residents  in  the  city.  These  friendships 
were  a  great  help  in  time  of  need,  and  now  form  the 
pleasantest  memories  of  our  stay  in  Constantinople. 

On  July  first,  we  were  visiting  at  Robert  College 
when  word  came  that  Dr.  William  S.  Nelson  of 
Tripoli,  Syria,  had  arrived  in  Stamboul.  About  the 
time  of  our  departure  from  Beirut  we  had  heard  that 
Dr.  Nelson  also  was  experiencing  some  difficulties  with 
the  Turks.  Later  we  learned  that  he  had  been  de- 
ported from  Syria,  and  ordered  to  the  interior  of 
Anatolia.  At  Adana  he  had  discovered  an  old  friend 
among  the  police,  and  had  succeeded  in  spending  the 
winter  with  the  American  missionaries  there,  before 
the  Constantinople  police  finally  located  him  and  or- 
dered him  to  appear  before  the  Court  Martial  in  the 
Capital. 

Mr.  Fowle,  American  Attache  to  the  Swedish  Lega- 
tion, in  charge  of  American  interests,  and  Mr.  Dana 
immediately  called  at  the  address  Dr.  Nelson  had  sent 
them,  not  knowing  that  he  was  then  under  police 
guard.  They  had  half  an  hour  with  him,  during  which 
they  learned  why  he  had  been  deported.  An  hour 
later  he  was  taken  to  the  Military  Prison  at  the  War 
Department.  A  kavass  was  sent  from  the  Swedish 
Legation  to  inquire  about  his  welfare,  but  was  roughly 
repulsed,  and  for  three  and  a  half  months  he  was  kept 
in  a  dingy  cell,  and  was  not  allowed  to  communicate 
with  any  one. 


248         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Azmi  Bey  regarded  Dr.  Nelson  as  another  of  his 
special  enemies  because  of  his  prominence  in  relief- 
work  in  the  Tripoli,  Horns  and  Hama  region.  The 
same  week  that  Mr.  Dana  .was  arrested,  Dr.  Nelson*s 
private  residence  in  Homs  had  been  seized  by  the 
Turks,  and  his  personal  effects  had  been  confiscated. 
He  had  sent  a  special  messenger  with  a  note  to  Mr. 
Dana  requesting  him  to  bring  this  violation  of  previ- 
ous agreements  in  regard  to  American  property  to  the 
attention  of  the  Dutch  Consul  General  in  Beirut.  The 
messenger  was  intercepted,  and  Azmi  seized  upon  this 
incident  as  a  pretext  for  arresting  Dr.  Nelson,  and  ac- 
cusing him  of  suspicious  conduct.  He  was  imprisoned 
for  a  month  in  Tripoli,  and  later  deported  to  the  in- 
terior during  the  worst  winter  weather.  He  suffered 
much  ill-treatment,  being  kept  in  foul  prisons  with 
common  criminals  in  several  places  en  route.  Imme- 
diately upon  Dr.  Nelson's  arrival  and  imprisonment, 
Mr.  Dana  had  reason  to  expect  a  similar  fate,  and 
though  he  generously  spared  us  his  suspicions,  he  made 
all  his  preparations  with  this  in  mind. 

Two  weeks  later,  on  July  14th,  six  military  and  civil 
police  arrived  at  the  College.  Our  rooms  were  thor- 
oughly searched,  and  Mr.  Dana  was  carried  off, 
whither  we  knew  not,  or  why.  We  later  learned  that 
he  spent  two  nights  in  one  of  the  awful  secret  prisons 
of  Stamboul,  without  food  or  water.  There  were 
more  than  thirty  criminals  in  the  one  small  cell,  and 
they  were  so  packed  together  that  none  had  space 
either  to  lie  or  sit.  Some  of  the  prisoners  had  ap- 
parently been  there  many  days,  and  one  of  a  group 


Deportation  and  Imprisonment  249 

of  eight  who  were  chained  to  the  wall  with  their  hands 
above  their  heads  died  the  first  night,  and  was  still 
hanging  there  in  a  bloated  condition  when,  two  days 
later,  Mr.  Dana  was  removed  to  the  Military  Prison 
in  the  War  Department.  There  he  was  put  for  a  few 
hours  into  an  underground  dungeon,  but  was  subse- 
quently removed  to  a  cell  in  the  main  prison.  This 
cell  already  contained  an  Egyptian  spy,  a  nephew  of 
the  Sultan,  who  had  killed  a  comrade  in  a  drunken 
brawl,  and  an  insane  Turk.  The  latter  soon  became 
obsessed  with  the  idea  that  the  newcomer  had  been 
sent  to  assassinate  him,  and  during  the  next  montla 
made  three  attempts  to  cut  his  throat  when  he  sup- 
posed him  to  be  sleeping.  For  one  week  Mr.  Dana 
was  practically  without  food,  and  was  allowed  only  a 
small  quantity  of  water  once  a  day.  He  suffered 
from  dysentery,  but  was  refused  medical  aid  of  any 
nature.  He  had  no  bed,  and  the  vermin  and  rats  were 
a  constant  annoyance.  When  we  succeeded  in  finding 
out  where  he  was,  we  made  vain  attempts  to  see  him. 
We  were  put  off  with  promises,  and  with  lies  about  an 
excellent  restaurant  which  once  existed  near  the  prison, 
and  from  which  prisoners  who  were  able  to  pay  were 
said  to  obtain  meals.  We  did  not  know  that  this 
restaurant  was  a  myth,  and  that  all  his  money  had 
been  taken  away  from  him  when  he  entered  the  prison. 
After  a  week  an  accommodating  Albanian  guard  who 
had  worked  in  a  hotel  in  New  York  smuggled  out  to 
us  a  note  from  the  prisoner  asking  for  food,  which  we 
at  once  sent. 

Gradually  we  got  an  entering  wedge  into  the  prison. 


250         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Precedent  is  everything  in  Turkey;  and  although  we 
were  not  permitted  to  see  Mr.  Dana  the  first  three 
times  when  we  called,  when  the  officials  got  accustomed 
to  the  sight  of  us,  we  were  allowed  to  come  and  go 
quite  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  same  was  true  of  the 
able  young  kavass  from  the  Swedish  Legation  who  ac»- 
companied  us  as  courier  and  interpreter,  and  who  was 
permitted  to  carry  to  the  prisoner  the  food  and  water 
which  we  sent  him  three  times  a  week.  The  Egyptian 
cellmate  also  proved  a  good  friend,  and  sometimes 
loaned  Mr.  Dana  his  brazier  for  cooking  or  boiling 
water.  While  food,  water,  books,  and  clean  laundry 
reached  him,  they  only  slightly  mitigated  the  discom- 
fort of  his  surroundings.  Day  and  night  he  was  never 
out  of  hearing  of  tlie  clank  of  chains  in  the  dungeons 
below,  or  the  groans  of  other  unfortunates  who  were 
being  beaten,  often  until  they  died.  The  prison  was 
unspeakably  filthy,  and  was  infested  with  vermin. 

One  night  there  stood  as  guard  at  the  cell  door  a  man 
who  spoke  Arabic.  This  fact  was  so  unusual  in  a 
place  where  only  Turkish  was  known  that  Mr.  Dana 
made  bold  to  address  him.  It  seemed  little  short  of 
a  miracle  that  this  soldier  had  been  recruited  recently 
from  a  village  near  Beirut,  and  more  wonderful  still 
that  his  last  appeal  in  behalf  of  his  family  which  he 
was  leaving  destitute  had  been  to  the  American  Press. 
He  recognized  the  Press  Manager  in  the  prisoner,  and 
urged  him  to  flee.  He  was  surprised  that  no  greater 
advantage  was  taken  of  his  assistance  than  a  quiet  exit 
to  the  courtyard,  where,  in  a  stone  watering  trough, 
Mr.  Dana  had  his  first  bath  in  many  weeks.     Save  on 


Deportation  and  Imprisonment  251 

tKaf  occasion,  and  on  one  other  when  he  was  taken 
a  few  paces  across  the  compound  to  the  War  Depart- 
ment, he  was  never  out  of  his  tiny  cell  for  over  seven 
weeks. 

Every  moonlight  night  and  on  special  holidays  Con- 
stantinople was  subjected  to  British  aeroplane  raids. 
One  of  the  main  objectives  was  the  War  Department 
Building  adjacent  to  the  prison.  One  bomb  destroyed 
two  large  anti-aircraft  guns  in  the  yard  just  below  Mr. 
Dana's  window,  killed  several  guards,  and  wounded 
prisoners  in  the  rooms  on  either  side  of  his,  but  no 
shrapnel  entered  his  cell. 

During  all  the  time  while  Mr.  Dana  and  Dr.  Nelson 
were  undergoing  these  nerve-racking  experiences  we 
were  seeking  through  every  channel  to  find  out  the 
charge  against  them,  and  to  learn  how  the  case  would 
proceed.  The  War  Department  was  a  close  secret- 
society,  and  Enver  Pasha,  the  well-known  head  of  the 
coterie,  was  particularly  inaccessible  and  was  much 
feared.  His  second,  Seifi  Bey,  was  not  much  more 
approachable.  No  Turk  could  be  induced  to  meddle 
even  indirectly  with  War  Department  affairs  lest  he 
incur  its  ill-will.  There  were  no  American  men  in 
Constantinople  who  were  in  a  position  to  help,  us  other- 
wise than  through  advice  and  sympathy,  so  Mrs.  Dana 
and  I  were  obliged  to  manage  as  best  we  could  by 
ourselves.  Fortunately  we  had  a  large  circle  of  ac- 
quaintances, and  we  were  fairly  familiar  with  the  city. 
With  almost  every  one  we  used  French  as  a  medium, 
and  we  found  the  direct  method  of  personal  visits  or 
letters  usually  more  effective  than  dependence  upon 


2^2         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

others.  A  typical  instance  of  this  was  our  success  in 
getting  the  insane  man  removed  from  Mr.  Dana's  cell 
After  trying  three  weeks  through  five  different  chan- 
nels, we  finally  accomplished  it  by  a  call,  and  a  letter 
in  most  flowery  English  addressed  by  Mrs.  Dana  to 
the  Commandant  de  la  Place  who  had  authority  over 
the  Warden  of  the  Prison. 

We  were  often  impressed  by  the  lack  of  coordina- 
tion in  tlie  various  departments  of  the  Turkish  police. 
This  was  because  they  had  only  a  crude  imitation  of 
the  German  system.  Though  Mr.  Dana  was  so  care- 
fully guarded,  letters  were  still  delivered  for  him  at 
tlie  usual  address.  After  the  first  fifteen  days  of  his 
imprisonment  we  were  allowed  to  see  him,  but  our 
first  visit  was  very  brief  and  in  the  presence  of  an 
interpreter.  As  the  Turks  never  give  women  credit 
for  any  intelligence,  we  were  regarded  as  quite  harm- 
less; the  following  week  the  interpreter  was  present 
for  only  part  of  our  stay,  and  never  at  any  time  after- 
wards. We  knew  that  none  of  the  persons  usually 
in  the  Commandant's  oflice  understood  English.  I  took 
advantage  of  this  fact  to  report  the  contents  of  letters 
and  telegrams  to  my  chief,  and  he  gave  me  instruc- 
tions as  to  replies,  and  other  business  affairs.  Thus 
all  the  time  that  he  was  closely  immured  he  was  able 
to  direct  certain  matters  affecting  the  relief-work 
which  had  been  the  chief  cause  of  all  his  difficulties. 

The  Swedish  Legation  to  which  American  interests 
were  entrusted  was  frankly  pronounced  by  some  Ger- 
mans in  that  Embassy  as  more  pro-German  and  anti- 
American  than  the  Germans  themselves.     Although 


Deportation  and  Imprisonment  253 

the  matter  of  the  detention  of  two  Americans  at  the 
Military  Prison  should  properly  have  been  referred  im- 
mediately to  the  Military  Attache  of  the  Swedish 
Legation  as  the  proper  person  to  communicate  with 
the  Minister  of  War,  it  was  not  even  brought  to  his 
attention  until  the  eve  of  his  departure  for  Switzer- 
land. The  Swedish  Minister  was  absent  on  leave,  and 
the  Counsellor  who  was  acting  in  his  absence  did  not 
feel  inclined  to  take  active  interest  in  so  complicated  a 
case.  So  far  as  we  knew,  he  mentioned  the  imprison- 
ment of  Dr.  Nelson  and  Mr.  Dana  in  only  one  official 
visit  to  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  The  only 
response  was  that  such  a  matter  should  be  referred 
to  the  Minister  of  War.  Furthermore,  the  Counsellor 
flatly  refused  to  report  the  matter  to  the  State  De- 
partment at  Washington,  and  would  not  even  forward 
the  telegram  which  we  ourselves  drew  up  requesting 
the  State  Department  to  inform  the  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  fate  of  two  of  its 
missionaries.  About  a  week  before  Mr.  Dana  was  set 
at  liberty,  they  finally  yielded  to  our  importunity  to  the 
extent  of  reporting  the  matter  by  letter,  which  prob- 
ably reached  the  State  Department  about  two  months 
later — some  time  after  the  Turkish  Armistice  was 
signed. 

Mr.  Dana*s  release  on  September  3rd  came  as  sud- 
denly as  his  arrest.  Up  to  the  very  moment  when  it 
occurred,  not  ten  minutes  after  we  had  left  the  prison 
very  downhearted  after  one  of  our  weekly  visits,  we 
had  not  the  slightest  intimation  of  any  such  possibility. 
We  knew  he  had  been  summoned  before  the  Court 


254  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Martial  on  several  occasions.  We  also  understood 
that  the  findings  of  the  court  regarding  his  case  had 
been  handed  to  Seifi  Bey,  Enver's  second,  and  that  any 
resultant  action  rested  now  with  the  sweet  will  of  that 
man,  who  might  take  two  days  or  two  years  before  he 
made  up  his  mind,  and  in  the  end  might  either  liberate 
or  execute  the  prisoner  according  to  his  mood  on  the 
day  when  he  made  the  decision. 

We  now  know  that  we  owe  Mr.  Dana's  release  to 
our  friend.  Captain  Arthur  von  Haas,  Naval  Attache 
of  the  German  Embassy,  who  was  personally  ac- 
quainted with  Seifi  Bey,  and  who  told  him  in  strong 
terms  that,  if  Turkey  considered  herself  a  civilized  na- 
tion, she  should  either  try  and  punish  that  American 
or  dismiss  him.  Dr.  Nelson  was  not  released  until 
October  18th,  six  weeks  later,  when  the  Turks  began 
to  realize  that  they  were  playing  a  losing  game,  and 
wanted  to  propitiate  American  sentiment. 

During  the  five  months  of  Mr.  Dana's  stay  in  Con- 
stantinople before  he  was  located  by  the  police,  he 
came  into  contact  through  financial  matters  with 
Djavid  Bey,  Minister  of  Finance,  with  Ali  Munif  Bey, 
former  Governor  of  Lebanon,  then  Minister  of  Public 
Works,  and  with  others  in  official  circles.  Ali  Munif 
Bey  was  one  of  the  persons  who  was  exceedingly 
courteous  and  friendly  to  us  during  our  difficulties,  and 
did  what  he  could  to  help.  Early  in  1918  some  ques- 
tions arose  in  official  circles  in  Constantinople  as  to 
Azmi  Bey's  conduct  in  office,  and  Mr.  Dana  was  able 
to  furnish  facts  regarding  certain  cases  of  bribery  and 
blackmail  in  which  Azmi  was  the  principal.     In  the 


Deportation  and  Imprisonment  255 

early  summer,  Azmi  Bey  was  dismissed  from  office, 
and  after  he  had  loitered  about  a  month  in  Beirut  on 
the  pretence  of  closing  up  his  affairs  there,  he  obeyed 
the  summons  from  Constantinople.  He  knew  that 
Mr.  Dana  was  the  one  person  in  Constantinople 
cognizant  of  certain  of  his  misdeeds,  and  for  revenge 
he  sent  false  papers  to  the  Capital  which  caused  the 
revival  of  the  deportation  question,  Dr.  Nelson's  fur- 
ther deportation  to  Constantinople,  and  the  imprison- 
ment of  both  Americans.  He  tliereby  caused  a  great 
deal  of  distress  until  the  endless  ramifications  of 
Turkish  injustice  could  be  disentangled. 

During  all  this  time  local  history  in  Constantinople 
was  in  the  making.  The  old  SuUan,  Mahmoud  V, 
had  died  on  July  4th,  and  had  been  succeeded  by 
Mahmoud  Reshad,  a  man  of  wholly  different  calibre. 
Those  who  saw  him  said  that  he  had  a  calm,  dignified 
bearing,  and  a  frank,  piercing  glance.  He  soon  showed 
a  tendency  to  disregard  time-honoured  customs,  espe- 
cially as  to  the  seclusion  of  the  Sultan.  His  first  act 
of  self-assertion  was  to  attend  the  funeral  of  his 
brother,  the  late  Sultan,  a  simple  act  of  family  affection 
which  outraged  all  imperial  traditions.  He  allowed 
petitioners  to  approach  him  on  the  street,  and  he  even 
went  so  far  as  to  plan  an  office  for  himself  in  the 
War  Department  where  he  could  see  people  on  busi- 
ness during  business  hours.  He  went  in  person  to 
several  of  the  awful  fires,  kindled  by  incendiaries  as  a 
protest  against  the  war,  which  raged  in  Constantinople 
that  summer,  and  destroyed  a  quarter  of  the  Stamboul 
area.     The  Triumvirate,  who  were  accustomed  to  a 


256  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

mere  figurehead  as  ruler,  soon  realized  that  they  had  a 
different  problem  on  their  hands.  The  new  Sultan 
had  his  own  ideas  about  governing,  and  he  postponed 
for  weeks  the  ceremony  of  the  Sword  Investiture, 
which  is  equivalent  to  a  coronation,  until  he  had  been 
able  to  enforce  certain  much-needed  reforms.  The 
Committee  of  Union  and  Progress  endeavoured  to 
keep  him  practically  a  prisoner  in  his  palace,  but  the 
reaction  against  that  party  had  already  set  in,  and  the 
scheme  to  control  the  new  Sultan  resulted  in  the  over- 
throw of  the  Cabinet  and  the  establishment  of  another, 
presumably  chosen  from  the  peace  party.  This  marked 
the  greatest  day  in  Turkey's  history  in  over  ten  years. 
For  a  decade  the  Triumvirate  had  held  complete  sway, 
but  now  the  mighty  had  fallen. 

During  the  first  half  of  1918  the  Germans  evidently 
felt  that  they  still  had  control  of  the  situation  in  the 
Ottoman  Empire,  even  though  they  realized  that 
Turkey — that  is  to  say  the  Young  Turks — proved  a 
refractory  ally.  They  had  been  successful  in  duping 
the  Turks  to  the  point  of  making  them  believe  that  the 
management  of  affairs  was  in  Ottoman  hands,  and 
that  the  Teutonic  role  was  merely  to  suggest  up-to- 
date  methods.  The  newspapers  which  manifestly 
were  either  subsidized  by  Germany,  or  were  in  deadly 
fear  of  German  censorship,  had  a  good  deal  to  say 
about  Turkey's  wonderful  progress  in  the  past  three 
years,  the  tremendous  development  of  her  natural  re- 
sources, and  her  glorious  share  in  the  ultimate  triumph 
of  her  Prussian  allies.  The  Germans  who  inspired 
the  Ottoman  Press  did  their  utmost  to  inflame  Turkish 


Deportation  and  Imprisonment  257 

enmity,  which  was  all  too  slow  to  kindle,  against  the 
Americans.  The  Osmanischc  Lloyd  published  several 
impassioned  attacks  against  the  American  missionaries 
and  educational  institutions  in  Turkey,  which  they 
designated  as  the  agents  of  American  political  propa- 
ganda. There  was  always  war  news  too — on  the  first 
page  in  those  days — and  lots  of  pictures,  some  of  them 
fakes,  posted  in  the  official  news  bureaus.  Constanti- 
nople was  probably  the  one  place  in  the  world  where 
news  of  events  everywhere  was  freely  disseminated. 
We  knew  from  hour  to  hour  what  was  happening,  not 
only  in  Germany  and  Bulgaria,  but  also  in  England, 
Egypt,  France  and  America.  The  news  from  the 
fronts  was,  so  far  as  we  could  judge,  practically  cor- 
rect, but  so  carefully  worded  that,  unless  one  studied 
the  map  from  day  to  day,  one  could  not  be  sure  just 
which  way  the  real  success  pointed.  Germany  and 
Turkey,  it  was  interesting  to  note,  were  never  defeated 
anywhere,  but  always  "  withdrew  to  a  stronger  position 
for  strategic  reasons,"  The  morale  of  the  Entente 
forces  was  always  at  its  last  ebb,  and  the  American 
army  was  despicable,  and  could  not  contain  any  decent 
men,  since  it  had  enlisted,  as  facts  attested,  such  abso- 
lute riff-raff  as  13,000  negroes,  some  of  whom  were 
even  officers!  Scarcely  a  day  passed  without  some 
reference  to  the  fact  that  in  England  and  America 
there  were  strong  parties  opposed  to  the  war,  and  the 
I.  W.  W.  and  Sinn  Fein  outbursts  were  quoted  liber- 
ally as  instances  of  popular  feeling.  Many  of  the 
items  were  most  laughable.  Yet  we  watched  also 
with  anxious  eyes  the  apparent  failure  of  the  Entente 


258         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

spring  drive  in  France,  and  the  slow  progress  in 
Palestine. 

Then  in  September  it  seemed  as  though  everything 
began  to  happen  at  once.  We  watched  the  disin- 
tegration of  Bulgaria  and  the  moral  collapse  in  Ger- 
many. Word  came  of  the  sweeping  advance  of  Brit- 
ish forces  in  Syria  and  of  the  British  occupation  of 
Beirut  on  October  8th.  Soon  Germans  and  Austrians 
whom  we  had  known  in  Syria  began  to  arrive  in  Con- 
stantinople with  varying  tales  of  their  flight.  The 
Bulgarian  Armistice  was  signed  on  September  30th. 
The  Turkish  Cabinet  again  fell,  and  a  new  cabinet 
made  definite  overtures  for  an  armistice.  Following 
the  success  of  their  negotiations,  but  before  the  Entente 
forces  entered  Constantinople,  Enver,  Talaat,  Jemal, 
Azmi,  Bedri,  and  all  their  most  guilty  associates  fled 
the  city.  Those  were  exciting  days  with  the  front 
pages  of  the  papers  given  to  discussion  of  the  terms  of 
the  impending  treaty,  and  the  war  news  relegated  to 
chance  items  on  the  last  page.  The  populace  went 
mad  when  the  Armistice  was  signed,  and  the  whole  city 
blossomed  with  flags  of  every  nationality.  We  had 
never  seen  such  a  demonstration  on  any  other  occasion 
during  our  stay.  All,  save  the  Germans,  Austrians, 
and  the  few  Turks  who  possessed  some  national  pride, 
gave  themselves  up  to  rejoicing.  It  was  a  gladsome 
holiday,  not  a  day  of  defeat. 

Those  last  two  months  in  Constantinople,  after  the 
signing  of  the  Armistice,  were  in  some  respects  by  far 
the  most  agreeable  of  our  stay  in  that  city.  There 
was  a  sense  of  relief  from  the  terrible  uncertainty,  and 


THE  ENTENTE  FLEET  IN   THE  SEA  OF  MARMORA 


THE   FLEET  AT  ANCHOR  IN    THE  BOSPHORUS 


Deportation  and  Imprisonment  259 

we  knew  that  with  the  changed  conditions  we  were 
freed  from  further  persecution  at  the  hand  of  the 
Turks.  Up  to  the  very  last,  the  Government  created 
the  misleading  impression  that  the  terms  of  the  Armis- 
tice with  Turkey  were  much  more  favourable  than 
those  with  Bulgaria.  They  stated  in  positive  terms 
that  there  was  to  be  no  occupation  of  the  city,  but  that 
the  Ottoman  Government  had  consented  to  open  the 
Straits  for  the  passage  of  the  Entente  fleet  to  the 
Black  Sea.  A  small  commission  of  British  officers 
might  take  up  their  quarters  in  the  Capital,  as  that  was 
a  convenient  base  for  operations  against  Russia.  Con- 
sequently, when,  after  the  Dardanelles  had  been  swept 
of  mines,  seventy-six  warships  steamed  across  the 
Marmora  and  anchored  in  the  Bosphorus  with  every 
apparent  intention  of  remaining  there,  it  made  a  pro- 
found impression.  The  Turkish  enthusiasts  hardly 
knew  what  to  say.  A  few  hours  later  several  thou- 
sand British  troops  landed  and  marched  through  the 
streets,  acclaimed  and  showered  with  flowers  by  the 
non-Turkish  elements — another  distinct  surprise  to  a 
large  part  of  the  population.  Whatever  Turkish  illu- 
sions had  been,  it  was  evident  to  the  impartial  observer 
that  the  Turkish  Armistice  amounted  to  a  treaty  of 
complete  surrender.  The  forts  on  the  Dardanelles 
and  the  Bosphorus  were  occupied  by  Entente  forces; 
the  Turks  were  obliged  to  restore  all  foreign  institu- 
tions which  they  had  seized;  the  Germans  and  Aus- 
trians  were  interned  as  prisoners  of  war,  and  once  more 
Constantinople,  even  if  still  under  a  Moslem  Sultan, 
was  practically  in  control  of  a  Christian  government. 


26o         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Materially  the  city  at  once  showed  tlie  effects  of  the 
occupation  by  a  change  for  the  worse.  The  Turks  then 
realized  for  the  first  time  that  they  had  been  dependent 
on  their  allies  for  many  of  the  necessities  of  life. 
White  flour,  brought  from  Germany  and  Austria  at 
the  expense  of  the  populations  of  these  countries  to 
keep  up  a  good  appearance  in  the  Turkish  Capital,  was 
immediately  at  a  premium.  Railroad  connection  with 
Europe  had  already  been  severed  by  the  Bulgarian 
Armistice,  and  now  there  was  no  German  wireless  to 
bring  news  to  Constantinople.  Germans  who  had 
been  superintending  the  mines  on  the  Black  Sea  coast 
flooded  them  before  their  departure,  and  there  was  no 
longer  enough  coal  to  provide  the  city  with  adequate 
electricity  for  lighting,  running  the  printing  presses' 
and  tramcars,  or  for  the  Bosphorus  steamers.  Worst 
of  all,  the  water-pumping  station  was  completely  out 
of  fuel.  The  Entente  had  neither  the  means  nor  the 
inclination  to  help  Turkey  while  she  was  learning  the 
lesson  of  her  own  inadequacy.  The  Entente  fleet 
could  not  even  coal  its  own  ships  satisfactorily  at 
Constantinople,  and  there  were  more  important 
projects  afoot  than  the  rehabilitation  of  an  enemy 
capital. 

Lawlessness  ran  rife  in  the  city.  The  civilians 
clashed  with  the  military.  Greeks,  Turks,  and  Ar- 
menians seized  this  opportunity  to  settle  long-standing 
grievances,  and  every  day  literally  dozens  of  mutilated 
bodies  were  found  in  the  side-streets.  No  one  dared 
step  outside  of  his  house  after  dark,  unless  he  were 
accompanied  by  four  or  five  others,  and  all  were 


Deportation  and  Imprisonment  261 

heavily  arnied.  The  employees  of  concerns  which 
kept  late  hours,  like  the  newspapers,  were  particularly 
sul^jcct  to  attack,  although  there  seemed  no  other 
motive  tlian  race-hatred  for  these  deeds  of  violence. 

Consequently,  before  we  left  at  the  end  of  Decem- 
ber, we  had  experienced  the  inconveniences  of  life  in 
a  city  which  had  only  erratic  lighting,  no  tramcars,  few 
boats,  water  for  an  hour  or  so  daily  in  the  lower 
levels,  irregular  newspapers;  and  where  the  prices  of 
such  staples  as  meat,  flour  and  vegetables  were  con- 
tinually soaring.  Also  the  third  epidemic  of  Spanish 
influenza  in  six  months  was  raging,  and  the  usual 
winter  typhus  and  typhoid  were  on  the  increase.  Mrs. 
Dana  and  Dorothy  were  both  victims  of  the  "  flu  *'  in 
a  light  form,  which  prevented  our  leaving  with  Mr. 
Dana. 

While  the  Annistice  was  still  under  discussion  it 
occurred  to  the  Turks  that  it  might  be  advisable  to 
release  the  belligerent  subjects  whom  they  held  as 
interns  in  the  interior.  Some  of  these  returned  to 
their  former  residences  in  the  country ;  others  congre- 
gated in  Constantinople  and  Smyrna,  where  they 
hoped  to  obtain  passage  for  England  and  France. 
Our  friend,  Henry  Glockler,  who  had  been  interned  at 
Bey  Chehir,  joined  us  in  Constantinople;  and  on  De- 
cember 1st  he,  Mr,  Dana,  and  Dr.  Nelson  left  by 
train  for  Salonika,  t'ia  Bulgaria.  What  should  have 
been  a  thirty-hour  railroad  journey  took  these  men 
six  days  of  considerable  hardship,  and  constitutes  a 
little  adventure  by  itself.  "All's  well  that  ends  well," 
however,  and  they  reached  Egypt  in  time  for  Christ- 


262         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

mas.  Dr.  Nelson  left  for  Syria  the  latter  part  of 
December.  The  rest  of  us,  Mrs.  Dana,  Dorothy  and 
I,  delayed  at  Constantinople  until  we  could  travel  by; 
sea.  Through  the  never-failing  courtesy  of  the  Brit- 
ish officials,  we  succeeded  in  getting  passage  on  the 
Kashgar,  a  British  transport,  and  had  a  most  luxuri- 
ous trip  to  Port  Said,  arriving  there  January  4th.  Mr. 
Dana,  who  was  still  in  Egypt,  met  us  at  the  steamer 
and  took  us  up  to  Cairo,  where  he  left  us  to  recuperate 
from  our  adventures.  January  20th  saw  him  and  Mr. 
Glockler  back  in  Beirut.  About  two  hundred  Syrians 
met  them  at  the  dock,  and  Mr.  Dana  will  never  forget 
the  numerous  touching  ways  in  which  his  Syrian 
friends  showed  their  joy  at  his  safe  return. 

The  rest  of  us  remained  in  Egypt  until  April.  On 
our  return  we  found  Beirut  little  altered  in  appear- 
ance, but  much  changed  by  the  occupation.  Most 
striking  was  the  expression  of  new  hope  in  the  faces 
of  the  people.  We  had  been  at  home  only  a  very  short 
time  before  we  began  to  feel  that  we  had  never  been 
away  at  all.  Familiar  scenes,  familiar  faces,  and  the 
accustomed  work,  resumed  just  where  we  had  left  it — 
these  were  reality.  Constantinople  and  the  year  of 
exile  was  only  a  painful  dream.  And  yet,  looking 
back  on  the  experiences  of  our  year  and  a  half  of 
absence,  we  all  feel  that,  while  much  of  it  was  trying, 
it  was  all  worth  while. 


xv; 

THE  DARK  HOUR  BEFORE  THE  DAWN 

THOSE  who  were  in  Syria  during  the  year 
1918  are  agreed  that  it  was  the  saddest  and 
hardest  year  of  the  whole  war  period.  Con- 
ditions were  steadily  growing  worse,  the  powers  of 
resistance  had  been  weakened,  and  hope  was  expiring. 
The  end  of  the  war  still  seemed  out  of  sight,  and  there 
were  certain  indications  that  it  might  be  months  dis- 
tant. The  deportation  of  Mr.  Dana  and  Rev.  W.  S. 
Nelson  of  the  American  Mission  in  Tripoli  had  so 
thoroughly  alarmed  the  other  Americans  that  they 
made  themselves  as  inconspicuous  as  possible,  and  for 
the  most  part  they  devoted  themselves  exclusively  to 
their  regular  missionary  or  collegiate  activities. 

Rev.  Paul  Erdman  of  Zahleh  Station  was  elected 
Mr.  Dana's  successor;  and  when  he  left  his  home  in 
the  Lebanon  to  live  in  Beirut,  he  knew  that  there  was 
a  distinct  odium  attached  to  the  position  he  was  now  to 
occupy,  and  a  possibility  that  he  might  share  the  fate 
of  his  predecessor.  No  one  in  Beirut  knew  at  that 
time  just  what  had  been  the  reason  for  Mr.  Dana's 
deportation,  and  there  was  considerable  justification 
for  the  fear  that  whoever  succeeded  him  in  his  work 
might  also  be  removed  by  the  Government,  should  he 

J63 


264         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

prove  too  energetic  in  relief  activities.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  say  too  much  in  praise  of  the  way  in  which 
Mr.  Erdman  accepted  and  discharged  the  onerous  and 
unfamiliar  duties  in  Beirut,  and  the  courage  with 
which  he  applied  himself  to  the  dangerous  task.  The 
circumstances  under  which  he  began  the  work  could 
hardly  have  been  more  difficult.  Mr.  Dana  had  been 
in  the  custody  of  the  Government  for  the  week  preced- 
ing his  sentence  to  deportation,  and  was  granted  only 
three  days  in  which  to  close  up  his  business  and  pre- 
pare for  departure.  It  was  wholly  out  of  the  question 
to  leave  his  affairs  in  proper  shape  to  hand  them  on 
to  any  one  else.  Those  last  three  days  he  worked  day 
and  night,  with  an  average  of  less  than  three  hours' 
sleep  in  twenty- four;  but  the  utmost  he  could  accom- 
plish was  to  map  out  roughly  the  vital  principles  of 
policy  which  should  guide  his  successor.  It  was  im- 
possible for  Mr.  Erdman  to  come  to  Beirut  at  that 
time.  Consequently,  the  two  men  never  had  an  op- 
portunity to  discuss  the  details  of  the  work  which  the 
one  was  handing  on  to  the  other  under  such  trying 
conditions. 

Within  a  few  days  after  Mr.  Dana's  departure  Mr. 
Erdman  was  in  Beirut.  The  way  in  which  he  handled 
the  difficult  situation  was  nothing  short  of  genius. 
His  only  assets,  in  addition  to  his  own  powers,  were 
the  "  good-will  "  of  the  concern  he  was  now  directing, 
and  the  loyal  support  of  the  same  corps  of  assistants 
that  had  worked  with  Mr.  Dana.  He  was  obliged, 
however,  to  win  for  himself  the  confidence  of  the  busi- 
ness men  of  the  city,  and  to  convince  them  that  a 


The  Dark  Hour  Before  the  Dawn         265 

scholar  and  a  teacher — a  "  mere  missionary/'  as  they 
might  have  said — was  also  a  capable  man  of  business. 
In  his  delicate  task  he  succeeded  marvellously,  and 
to-day  every  business  man  in  Beirut  holds  Mr.  Erd- 
man  in  high  esteem,  and  praises  him  both  for  his 
ability  and  his  delightful  personality. 

The  new  Manager  carried  on  the  work  of  the  Press 
along  the  same  lines  as  before,  since  he  regarded  his 
administration  as  merely  an  interlude,  and  looked  for- 
ward to  the  time  when  the  real  Manager  would  return 
to  resume  his  interrupted  activities.  He  made  no 
changes  in  policy  or  practice,  continuing  as  usual  the 
Syrian  remittances  and  the  relief-work.  Whatever 
alterations  he  made  were  slight,  and  only  in  concession 
to  altered  conditions.  I  mention  this  as  an  indication 
of  Mr.  Erdman's  exquisite  tact.  It  is  always  easy  to 
inherit  another  man's  work  and  alter  it  in  accordance 
with  one's  own  judgment,  but  it  is  vastly  more  difficult 
to  seat  oneself  at  a  man's  desk  and  carry  on  his  work 
in  exactly  the  way  in  which  he  himself  would  have 
done  it.  It  was  just  that  difficult  feat  which  Mr. 
Erdman  accomplished  to  perfection ;  and  consequently, 
when  Mr.  Dana  returned,  he  resumed  his  work  as 
easily  as  if  he  had  left  it  only  the  night  before. 

The  greatest  problem  during  the  last  year  of  the 
war  was  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  cash.  The  Syrian 
money-market  was  extremely  limited;  and  although 
Mr.  Erdman  never  let  an  available  sum  go  by,  he  could 
not  secure  sufficient  funds  to  finance  the  work.  Mr. 
Dana  was,  fortunately,  able  to  augment  Mr.  Erdman's 
amounts  by  the  sale  of  his  checks  in  Constantinople 


266         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

and  the  transfer  of  the  proceeds  to  Beirut  through 
regular  banking  channels.  The  money-market  in 
Constantinople  was  less  restricted  than  in  Beirut,  and 
the  signature  of  Mr.  Dana  was  already  sufficiently 
familiar  there  to  enable  him  to  negotiate  his  checks 
without  great  difficulties.  During  the  whole  time  of 
his  absence  from  Beirut  he  was  able  to  assist  mate- 
rially in  financing  the  Press  and  the  Mission  work  in 
Syria;  indeed  there  were  times  when  it  seemed  provi- 
dential that  the  Mission  now  had  a  representative  in 
the  Capital,  so  much  greater  were  the  financial  oppor- 
tunities there  during  this  period  than  in  the  provinces. 
As  has  been  explained  already,  the  only  safe  mail 
route  for  lists  and  data  connected  with  relief  pay- 
ments was  through  the  State  Department  in  Washing- 
ton, the  American  Legation  in  Stockholm,  and  the 
Swedish  Minister  in  Constantinople,  and  in  order  to 
safeguard  further  the  Mission  interests,  Mr.  Dana 
opened  the  Press  mail  in  Constantinople.  The  lists 
of  remittances  to  Syrians,  and  correspondence  from 
the  New  York  Treasurer  were  copied  on  plain  paper, 
so  that  in  case  of  another  raid  on  the  Press  premises 
in  Beirut  there  would  be  nothing  to  indicate  that  these 
papers  had  originated  in  New  York.  During  seven 
months  of  his  stay  in  Constantinople  Mr.  Dana  was  in 
constant  touch  with  his  Mission,  and  even  while  he  was 
in  prison,  when  Mrs.  Dana  and  I  visited  him  there,  he 
gave  me  instructions  in  regard  to  his  business  under 
the  very  ear  of  the  Turkish  censor.  He  also  wrote 
orders  covering  relief  appropriations  which  were 
smuggled  out  to  me,  enabling  me  to  secure  funds  and 


The  Dark  Hour  Before  the  Dawn         267 

forward  them  to  Beirut.  Thanks  to  the  stupidity  of 
the  Turks,  although  he  was  in  the  most  closely  guarded 
prison  of  the  Empire,  Mr.  Dana  was  able  to  continue 
without  serious  interruption  his  assistance  to  the  relief 
effort  in  Syria. 

Mr.  Dana  was  liberated  on  September  3rd,  and  at  the 
end  of  September  mail  communications  between  the 
Capital  and  Syria  were  abruptly  terminated.  About 
the  middle  of  October  we  learned  of  the  fall  of  Beirut, 
and  chafed  under  our  further  detention  in  Turkey 
when  we  were  longing  to  take  our  share  in  the  work 
of  reconstruction  and  rehabilitation  in  Syria.  It  was 
nearly  two  months  before  our  release  came.  On  De- 
cember 1st,  Mr.  Dana,  Dr.  Nelson  and  Mr.  Henry 
Glockler,  Mr.  Dana's  first  assistant  at  the  Press,  left 
Constantinople  by  train  ma  Bulgaria,  Salonika,  and 
Egypt,  en  route  for  Beirut. 

The  conditions  in  Beirut  during  our  absence  we 
could  only  surmise;  but  as  we  ourselves  had  lived 
there  through  three  dreadful  years  of  the  war,  we  did 
not  find  it  difficult  to  imagine  what  the  fourth  year 
must  have  been.  During  that  year  the  food  situation 
grew  steadily  worse.  Prices  soared,  and  the  already 
greatly  depreciated  paper-money  sank  lower  in  value. 
Flour,  which  before  the  war  had  sold  at  four  to  six 
piasters  per  rotl  for  the  best  grade,  could  now  not  be 
obtained  for  less  than  250  piasters  for  an  inferior 
quality.  In  some  places  the  price  even  went  up  to  350 
piasters  ($10.50  for  6  lbs.).  There  was  no  employ- 
ment, no  industry,  no  source  of  income,  except  the 
charity  remittances  received  through  the  Americans. 


268  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Only  certain  districts  in  the  wheat-belt  which  had  al- 
ways been  practically  self-supporting  were  able  to  keep 
up  a  semblance  of  their  pre-war  existence.  The  popu- 
lation at  large  was  absolutely  destitute,  and,  for  the 
first  time  during  the  war,  utterly  without  resources. 
It  was  no  longer  the  habitually  indigent  who  were  now 
suffering.  That  class  had  been  exterminated  early  in 
the  siege.  It  was  the  middle  class,  those  who  had  for- 
merly been  accustomed  to  modest  comfort  and  decent 
living,  who  were  now  reduced  to  extremest  poverty. 
The  former  better-to-do  stratum  of  society,  teachers, 
preachers,  small  merchants,  and  landed  proprietors 
were  now  dependent  on  charity  for  their  very  ex- 
istence. They  had  sold  every  salable  object.  House- 
hold furniture,  kitchen  utensils,  extra  clothing  and 
bedding,  all  had  been  sacrificed  to  meet  the  demand 
for  daily  bread.  They  had  economized  and  scraped 
along  with  the  barest  necessities,  and  now  they  had 
nothing  in  the  world  but  the  clothes  on  their  backs,  and 
a  single  vessel  in  which  to  cook,  should  they  be  so 
fortunate  as  occasionally  to  procure  the  ingredients 
for  a  hot  meal.  Ruined  and  dismantled  houses  bore 
witness  to  the  fact  that  families  in  desperation  had  sold 
the  very  roofs  from  over  their  heads.  The  most  dis- 
couraging feature,  from  the  philanthropic  standpoint, 
was  the  fact  that  during  this  year  many  families  that 
had  been  partially  supported  by  relief-funds  died — a 
terrible  reminder  of  the  apparent  waste  and  futility 
of  investing  money  in  so  feeble  a  security  as  human 
life. 

However,  the  relief-work  did  continue  in  a  manner 


The  Dark  Hour  Before  the  Dawn         269 

that  was  surprising,  considering  the  former  opposition 
of  the  Government.  For  the  first  time  in  three  years 
American  charity  in  Beirut  was  actually  countenanced 
by  the  Vdli,  although  he  stipulated  that  it  should  be 
carried  on  in  an  inconspicuous  fashion,  and  purely  un- 
der the  guise  of  private  philanthropy.  The  work  was 
modelled  after  that  of  the  Red  Cross  in  1914-16,  but 
was  very  limited  in  scope.  Although  the  Americans 
in  Syria  have  always  opposed  giving  relief  in  the  form 
of  money,  it  was  necessary  to  depart  from  their  ideals 
at  this  time,  as  it  was  a  case  of  money  or  nothing. 
The  distribution  of  food  was  out  of  the  question  owing 
to  the  difficulty  of  transport,  and  the  laws  controlling 
the  transfer  of  supplies  from  province  to  province. 
Furthermore,  the  Vdli  had  made  it  very  clear  that  all 
relief-work  must  be  carried  on  in  an  unostentatious 
manner.  A  food-distribution,  even  to  a  limited  num- 
ber of  people,  cannot  be  conducted  inconspicuously. 
The  hungry  smell  it  out  and  throng  to  the  distribu- 
tion center — then  there  is  the  end  of  charitable  at- 
tempts, and  probably  trouble  for  every  one  concerned ! 
There  was  practically  no  alteration  in  the  work  in 
Lebanon.  The  soup-kitchens  were  enlarged  some- 
what to  meet  the  increased  need,  but  the  limited  re- 
sources of  the  Relief  Committee  and  the  eternal  prob- 
lem of  transportation  added  greatly  to  the  difficulties 
connected  with  their  management.  It  is  curious  that 
during  this  last  year,  when  the  Turks  might  almost  be 
said  to  have  been  in  sight  of  success  in  the  extermina- 
tion of  the  male  population  of  Syria,  they  relaxed 
somewhat  their  efforts  and  permitted  philanthropic  in- 


270         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

terference  more  graciously  than  at  any  other  time  dur- 
ing the  course  of  the  war.  Moreover,  the  Germans, 
who  had  suggested  to  the  Turks  this  very  policy  of 
annihilation,  now  afforded  facilities  in  the  matter  of 
transport  that  seemed  incomprehensible.  Perhaps  the 
explanation  is  not  far  to  seek.  Both  Germans  and 
Turks  knew  that  the  end  was  near.  Jerusalem  had  al- 
ready fallen  on  December  9,  1917,  and  it  was  only  a 
question  of  time  until  the  British  forces  should  take 
possession  of  the  whole  of  Syria.  The  country  had 
already  been  seriously  crippled,  if  not  actually  drained 
of  its  life-blood.  Even  the  Turks  were  satisfied  with 
the  success  of  their  plan,  and  they  could  now  afford 
to  be  magnanimous,  especially  at  a  time  when  their 
own  fate  was  extremely  precarious.  They  might  yet 
be  grateful  for  proofs  of  good-will  toward  the  country 
they  had  governed,  and  the  foreigners  who  had  been 
resident  there. 

We  met  so  few  "  typical  Germans  "  in  Syria  that  I 
have  often  wondered  whether  the  German  Govern- 
ment sent  out  here  their  more  humane  subjects  who 
could  not  be  depended  upon  to  play  the  role  of  "  fright- 
fulness  "  demanded  on  the  Western  Front.  However 
that  may  be,  the  German  soldier  as  we  encountered 
him  seemed  easy-going,  and  too  sluggish  to  be  ag- 
gressively ill-tempered.  The  drivers  of  the  big  freight- 
lorries  were  frequently  parties  to  charitable  intrigues, 
and  seemed  equally  willing  to  aid  in  the  rescue  of  an 
orphan  girl  from  a  brutal  Turkish  employer,  or  in 
smuggling  grain  out  of  Damascus  into  Lebanon. 
This,  however,  was  purely  a  matter  of  personal  in- 


The  Dark  Hour  Before  the  Dawn         271 

clination  and  indicated  nothing  in  regard  to  the  gen- 
eral policy.  During  the  last  year  of  the  war  even 
Liman  von  Sanders,  at  the  instigation  of  Dr.  Dray, 
authorized  the  use  of  German  military  motor-trucks 
for  the  transport  of  grain  into  Lebanon  for  relief  pur- 
poses, although  he  stipulated  that  it  should  be  used 
only  for  women  and  children.  Certainly  Germany  had 
altered  her  policy  in  Syria — I  will  not  say  had  ex- 
perienced a  change  of  heart ! 

Politically  a  curious  state  of  affairs  existed  in  the 
country.  Jerusalem  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British 
nearly  a  year  before  Damascus  and  Beirut  were  cap- 
tured. The  country  lived  in  a  state  of  suspense, 
therefore,  for  months  after  the  fall  of  the  Holy  City, 
in  the  expectation  that  the  army  would  push  on  and 
complete  the  conquest  of  Syria.  This  the  enemy  failed 
to  do,  and  by  the  time  that  the  "big  drive"  really 
commenced  in  the  autumn  of  1918  the  people  of  Syria 
were  so  habituated  to  the  anomalous  state  of  affairs 
that  they  had  almost  forgotten  to  reckon  on  the  pos- 
sibility that  the  British  might  one  day  pursue  their 
advance.  News  of  the  progress  of  events  in  the  south 
filtered  through  but  slowly,  and  life  in  the  north  went 
on  just  as  when  the  enemy  was  more  than  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  away.  There  was,  however,  in- 
timate communication  between  the  Arabs  east  of  the 
Jordan,  who  were  armed  and  in  effective  cooperation 
with  the  English,  and  the  Druzes  of  southern  Lebanon. 
In  fact,  the  Arabs  with  the  King  of  the  Hedjaz  did 
their  utmost  to  persuade  the  Druzes,  both  in  Hauran 
and  Lebanon,  to  join  with  them.     This  the  cautious 


2'j2         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

Druzes  refused  to  do  until  they  were  more  assured  of 
the  success  of  the  British  campaign.  I  am  told,  how- 
ever, that  it  was  an  extremely  easy  matter  to  get  across 
the  lines,  particularly  for  an  able-bodied  Armenian. 
In  this  connection  my  informant  mentioned  as  one  of 
the  persons  who  had  aided  in  the  escape  of  a  number 
of  Armenians  to  the  other  side  an  old  Arab  who  had 
served  as  colporteur  for  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society  in  the  Hauran  for  a  number  of  years. 

The  Arab  party  in  Syria  was  gradually  assuming 
organized  form,  although  political  intrigues  discovered 
by  the  Turks  were  so  rigorously  punished  that  the 
utmost  secrecy  was  necessary.  The  fact,  however, 
that  considerable  political  propaganda  was  successfully 
carried  on  is  proved  beyond  a  doubt  by  the  course  of 
subsequent  events.  When  Damascus  fell  to  the  Arabs, 
the  President  of  the  municipality  of  Beirut  received  a 
telegram  ordering  him  to  seize  Beirut  for  the  Sherif, 
instructions  upon  which  he  acted  so  promptly  and  ef- 
fectively as  to  leave  no  doubt  concerning  the  complete- 
ness of  the  existent  Arab  organization. 

Apart  from  their  own  straightened  circumstances, 
and  the  sorrow  of  the  distress  about  them,  the  year 
1918  was  in  some  ways  less  wearing  for  the  Amer- 
icans than  the  year  previous  had  been.  Every  one 
lived  in  fear  of  an  evacuation  of  the  city  should  the 
British  advance  continue,  for  the  cities  of  the  south, 
notably  Jaffa,  had  been  evacuated  of  their  civil  popula- 
tions before  the  enemy's  approach.  As  the  advance 
seemed  to  be  arrested  for  the  moment,  this  fear  gradu- 
ally became  intermittent  and  dependent  upon  the  nature 


The  Dark  Hour  Before  the  Dawn  273 

of  rumours  from  the  south.  The  Government  showed 
no  special  antagonism  toward  the  Americans  during 
the  last  few  months  of  its  regime  in  Syria,  and  the 
year  passed  without  startling  incidents  such  as  had 
marked  1917.  Perhaps  the  secret  of  this  freedom 
from  annoyance  lay  in  the  antagonism  which  the  Turks 
felt  for  the  Germans.  The  very  fact  that  the  Ger- 
mans urged  a  measure  was  sufficient  to  make  the 
Turks  oppose  it  with  the  full  force  of  their  authority. 
It  is  not  evident,  however,  just  what  the  German  atti- 
tude was  at  this  time.  It  is  probable  that  they  were 
too  much  occupied  with  their  own  affairs  to  care  much 
what  the  Turks  or  any  one  else  did.  They  certainly 
regarded  Turkey  as  a  lost  cause.  The  Turkish  army 
was  almost  a  negligible  quantity,  and  the  length  of 
its  stay  in  Syria  depended  upon  the  length  of  time  that 
it  took  the  British  Army  to  make  up  its  mind  to  move. 
The  final  successful  British  advance  caused  a  perfect 
stampede  among  the  Germans,  and  they  were  the  only 
foreigners  in  Syria  who  did  not  rejoice  in  that  greatest 
event  in  the  modem  history  of  the  country:  the  Brit- 
ish occupation,  and  the  release  from  the  oppression  of 
the  Turk. 


XVI 

DAWN— THE  DAY  OF  SYRIA'S  LIBERATION 

THE  big  British  drive  in  Palestine  began  on 
September  19,  1918.  The  combined  German 
and  Turkish  opposition  melted  away  before 
the  onrush  of  the  enemy,  and  the  flood  of  occupation 
swept  northward  in  three  columns,  carrying  every- 
thing before  it.  The  achievements  of  the  Egyptian 
Expeditionary  Force  under  the  command  of  that  great 
general,  Sir  Edmund  Allenby,  have  already  been 
chronicled,  not  only  in  an  elaborate  report  from  of- 
ficial sources  published  by  the  Palestme  Nezvs,  but  also 
in  a  number  of  very  readable  personal  accounts.  It  is 
not  the  military  side  as  such  that  concerns  this  narra- 
tive, but  the  human  side  of  the  drama:  how  it  ap- 
peared to  those  who  were  in  enemy  territory,  but  in 
sympathy  with  the  British ;  and  what  it  meant  to  Syria. 
Probably  the  most  unusual  feature  of  the  situation 
was  the  fact  that  the  population  of  Syria  as  a  whole 
was  completely  in  the  dark  as  to  the  progress  of  events. 
No  official  report  of  the  enemy's  advance,  or  of  the 
achievements  of  the  defending  army  was  ever  pub- 
lished. The  supreme  aim  of  the  Turkish  military  ad- 
ministration was  to  keep  the  people  in  complete  igno- 
rance of  what  was  really  happening.  The  only  in- 
dication of  events  in  the  south  was  the  evidence,  never 

374 


Dawn — The  Day  of  Syria's  Liberation     275 

substantiated,  of  travellers*  tales,  or  the  fact  that  the 
post  and  telegraph  in  Beirut  no  longer  accepted  mes- 
sages for  certain  places  known  to  be  in  the  path  of  the 
British  advance.  Neither  of  these  channels  of  infor- 
mation was  reliable ;  in  the  first  place,  because  rumour 
ran  rife  in  the  country,  and  every  one  who  was  level- 
headed had  long  since  adopted  the  attitude  of  in- 
credulity toward  any  second-hand  item  of  information; 
and  in  the  second  place,  because  the  government  of 
Beirut  frequently  severed  contact  with  other  parts  of 
the  Empire  for  military  reasons,  in  some  cases  resum- 
ing the  interrupted  communications  after  every  one 
had  become  convinced  that  this  or  that  city  was  actually 
in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

Although  I  was  in  Constantinople  at  the  time  of  the 
fall  of  Beirut,  I  have  heard  the  story  from  one  of  our 
community  who  witnessed  that  great  event.  It  will 
always  be  a  tremendous  disappointment  to  me  that  I 
was  not  in  Syria  myself  when  this  happened,  but  the 
joy  of  returning  three  months  later  to  a  Syria  that 
was  no  longer  Turkish  made  up  in  a  measure  for  miss- 
ing the  actual  spectacle  of  the  occupation.  Whereas 
those  in  Syria  were  entirely  ignorant  of  the  near  ap- 
proach of  the  long-hoped-for  release,  we  in  Constanii- 
nople  followed  hour  by  hour  the  progress  of  the  ad- 
vancing forces.  Haifa,  Acre,  Tiberias,  Amman — 
one  by  one  we  heard  of  their  capture.  When  the  name 
of  Der*4  appeared  in  the  dispatches  our  excitement 
grew  intense.  Damascus  was  the  next  point  of  attack ; 
and  when  that  fell,  Beirut  was  as  good  as  taken.  When 
we  finally  heard  that  Beirut,  our  own  Beirut,  was  at 


276  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

last  in  British  possession,  we  laughed  and  wept.  We 
knew  that  the  occupation  of  Syria  before  the  winter 
set  in  would  mean  salvation  to  thousands  in  Lebanon, 
and  we  were  wild  with  impatience  to  be  back  to  help 
in  the  work  of  rehabilitation.  However,  our  patience 
was  not  put  to  a  very  lengthy  test.  Two  weeks  later, 
October  31st,  the  Turkish  Armistice  put  an  end  to  hos- 
tilities on  this  front.  I  am  not  sure  now  that  I  would 
exchange  that  wonderful  experience  of  seeing  the 
Entente  Fleet  in  the  Bosphorus,  and  the  Entente 
troops  in  the  Capital  for  even  the  privilege  of  being  in 
Beirut  on  the  day  of  its  liberation. 

Ten  days  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  on  December 
9,  1917,  the  event  was  unofficially  reported  in  Beirut; 
but  it  was  so  persistently  denied  by  the  authorities  that 
In  time  the  public  came  to  believe  the  rumour  false. 
It  was  some  months  before  the  fact  of  the  occupation 
of  Jerusalem  became  generally  accepted  in  the  north. 
The  same  was  true  of  the  advance  in  the  autumn  of 
1918.  Fragmentary  accounts  of  British  successes 
filtered  through,  but  were  usually  scouted  by  the  very 
people  who  were  most  willing  to  believe  in  their  ac- 
curacy. On  September  19th  two  members  of  the 
faculty  of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College  came  inde- 
pendently into  possession  of  facts  which,  while  they 
did  not  coincide,  convinced  these  two  gentlemen  be- 
yond doubt  that  the  "  big  drive  "  was  on.  They  spoke 
of  their  convictions  to  their  colleagues,  but  were 
laughed  to  scorn.  About  October  2nd,  one  of  them  was 
so  rash  as  to  assert  that  he  believed  the  British  might 
be  in  Beirut  before  College  opened  on  the  ninth;  but 


Dawn — The  Day  of  Syria's  Liberation     277 

his  statement  was  received  with  jeers,  and  one  of  the 
other  professors  asked  him  to  write  it  down,  so  that 
later  he  might  be  reminded  of  his  false  prediction. 
The  prophet  failed  to  tell  me  just  what  he  said  to  this 
skeptical  friend  when  the  British  entered  the  city  on 
October  8th! 

The  panic  among  the  Germans  and  Austrians  gave 
the  first  indication  that  something  was  wrong.  About 
the  first  of  October,  the  German  Consul  General,  who 
was  summering  in  BrummAna,  was  summoned  by  tele- 
gram to  the  city,  and  he  and  his  family  left  BrummAna 
secretly  by  night.  When  he  reached  Beirut  he  evi- 
dently received  reassuring  news,  for  he  returned  to 
the  mountains  early  the  following  morning,  with  the 
hope  that  no  one  had  marked  his  flight.  He  had  been 
there  only  two  hours  when  he  was  again  ordered  by 
telegram  to  flee  the  country,  and  he  hastily  deposited 
his  valuables  with  friends,  and  left  with  his  wife  and 
little  boy.  What  route  he  took  subsequently  is  not 
known  exactly.  Some  say  that  he  went  by  carriage  to 
Tripoli  (where  all  his  money  was  stolen  from  him), 
and  thence  by  the  pass  to  Homs.  Others  claim  that  he 
merely  pretended  to  take  that  route,  but  in  reality 
made  a  detour  around  Beirut,  returning  to  the  Da- 
mascus road,  and  continuing  to  Reyak,  where  he  got  a 
train  for  Constantinople. 

The  Austrian  Vice-Consul  and  his  family  made  just 
as  precipitous  a  descent  from  *Aleih  to  Beirut,  where 
they  endeavoured  to  extract  from  the  Vdli,  Ismail 
Hakki  Bey,  the  successor  of  Azmi,  a  true  statement  as 
to  the  actual  necessity  for  flight.     At  first  the  Gov- 


278         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

cmor  refused  to  admit  that  there  was  any  cause  for 
alarm,  but  finally  he  advised  the  distracted  official  to 
leave  the  country  with  all  possible  haste.  In  less  than 
twenty-four  hours  the  Austrians  had  sold  most  of  their 
household  effects  at  auction,  and  were  on  their  way  to 
Reyak.  I  must  confess  that  there  were  some  in  Beirut 
who  had  suffered  from  the  arrogance  and  discourtesy 
of  this  Vice-Consul,  and  who  had  been  offended  by 
the  heartless  extravagance  of  his  wife  during  a  time  of 
extreme  suffering  in  the  city,  who  greatly  enjoyed  the 
sight  of  them,  on  top  of  their  baggage,  in  a  German 
freight-lorry;  and  I  should  be  willing  to  testify  from 
my  own  experience  that  they  found  this  means  of 
travel  far  from  comfortable. 

'  The  German  flight  from  Syria  is  described  by  all 
witnesses  as  a  perfect  stampede.  German  morale 
seemed  to  be  entirely  broken,  and  fright  and  the  in- 
stinct of  self-preservation  drove  the  Germans  and  Aus- 
trians to  an  exhibition  of  abject  terror.  Many  Ger- 
man families  from  Haifa,  and  the  colonies  near  Jaffa, 
loaded  themselves  and  their  possessions  into  wagons 
and  drove  up  along  the  coast,  escaping  in  some  cases 
from  Beirut  northward  to  Tripoli  and  Homs,  and  in 
other  cases  over  the  mountains  to  Reyak.  All  were 
panic-stricken  and  demoralized,  and  each  thought  only 
of  himself  and  fled  without  even  passing  on  a  warn- 
ing to  such  of  his  countrymen  as  were  more  ignorant  of 
the  true  state  of  affairs.  Those  who  kept  to  the  main 
roads  and  finally  joined  the  railway  escaped  in  safety, 
but  one  party  which  set  off  northward  through  the 
mountains  was   killed   by   the   Nusairiyeh   north   of 


Dawn — The  Day  of  Syria's  Liberation     279 

Tripoli.  This  exodus  occurred  about  a  week  or  ten 
days  before  the  occupation  of  Beirut,  and  some  days 
before  the  fall  of  Reyak;  and  after  that  excitement 
had  subsided,  Beirut  relapsed  into  its  former  state  of 
incredulous  expectation. 

Those  who  were  in  the  mountains  were  first  warned 
of  the  near  approach  of  the  British.  Dr.  Dray,  who 
was  in  Brumm^na,  told  me  the  following  story: 

"  On  the  night  of  October  5th  we  were  startled  by 
the  sound  of  heavy  explosions  to  the  cast  of  us;  and  we 
saw  the  eastern  sky  illuminated  with  an  awful  glow. 
A  heavy  mist  hung  low  and  served  as  a  screen  to 
reflect  the  glare  of  the  deadly  fireworks,  and  we  could 
only  speculate  that  the  British  were  bombing  Reyak 
from  the  air.  All  the  next  day  the  heavy  cannonading 
continued,  and  at  night  a  repetition  of  the  previous 
night's  display. 

"  My  first  concern  was  for  the  Turkish  battery  at 
Beit  Meri,  which  I  knew  had  received  orders  to  bom- 
bard Beirut  at  the  first  sign  of  the  enemy's  approach. 
This  battery  was  composed  of  two  naval  guns  from  the 
Turkish  warship,  the  Hamidiyeh;  and  the  Turkish 
naval  officer  in  charge  did  not  understand  the  military 
code,  nor  did  his  military  superior  know  the  naval 
code.  Consequently,  all  of  his  orders  were  telegraphed 
to  him  in  simple,  uncoded  messages  in  Turkish,  and 
were,  through  the  telegraph  operators,  made  known 
in  the  village.  Furthermore,  this  Turk  was  friendly 
toward  me,  and  himself  shared  with  me  such  items  of 
military  importance  as  he  thought  might  prove  of  in- 
terest.    Through  him  I  learned  of  the  plan  to  bom- 


28o         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

bard  Beirut.  I  knew  that  they  had  the  exact  range, 
for  a  few  weeks  earlier  the  Beit  Meri  battery  had  in- 
dulged in  a  little  target-practice.  Four  or  five  tremen- 
dous splashes  in  the  sea  beyond  the  city  gave  evidence 
of  the  accuracy  of  their  calculations.  I  was  deter- 
mined to  do  my  utmost  to  prevent  such  a  catastrophe 
as  the  destruction  of  Beirut;  accordingly,  I  assembled 
the  head  men  of  the  villages  in  that  district  and  urged 
them  to  cooperate  with  me  in  an  attempt  to  secure 
possession  of  that  battery.  They  were  enthusiastic  in 
their  support,  and  we  made  up  quite  a  little  army  of 
civilians  and  boldly  approached  the  battery.  The 
Turks  in  command  were  taken  wholly  off  their  guard 
and  attempted  no  resistance.  I  parleyed  with  the  of- 
ficer in  command,  and  told  him  that  as  the  British 
were  approaching  he  would  best  surrender  the  guns 
and  escape  while  there  was  yet  time.  I  finally  induced 
him  to  give  me  a  list  of  the  pieces  in  the  battery,  and 
of  the  ammunition,  which  list  I  dispatched  a  few  days 
later  to  the  commander  of  the  Army  of  Occupation  in 
Beirut,  and  for  which  I  received  official  acknowledg- 
ment. Our  first  plan  was  to  disarm  the  two  hundred 
and  fifty  Turkish  soldiers  in  charge  of  the  position;  but 
they  pled  to  keep  their  rifles,  as  they  were  certain  that 
if  they  passed  unarmed  through  the  country,  they  would 
be  massacred  by  the  inhabitants.  We  finally  consented, 
on  condition  that  they  left  Beit  Meri  immediately.  I 
heard  later  that  they  went  down  to  the  plain,  where  they 
surrendered  to  the  first  British  detachments  that  ar- 
rived. 

"  One  morning  we  looked  down  to  Beirut,  and  there 


Dawn — The  Day  of  Syria's  Liberation     281 

in  the  harbour  lay  several  warships.  From  that  time 
onward  events  occurred  so  rapidly  that  I  can  scarcely 
recall  the  exact  sequence.  On  October  8th  the  British 
Seventh  Division  entered  Beirut,  where  they  were 
warmly  received,  and  where  some  six  hundred  and 
sixty  Turks,  including  sixty  officers,  were  surrendered 
to  them  by  the  inhabitants.  From  our  point  of  vantage 
on  the  mountain  we  watched  the  progress  of  a  mighty 
army  along  the  coast.  All  day  long  the  roads  were 
black  with  crawling  troops,  and  at  night  their  bivouac 
fires  starred  the  plain.  At  daylight  they  would  push 
on  northward,  and  others  would  come  up  during  the 
day  to  take  their  places.  Within  a  few  days,,  every 
village  and  hamlet  in  the  country  quartered  British 
soldiers.  In  Brummdna,  Beit  Meri,  and  the  site  of 
the  former  battery  there  were  seventy-five  in  all;  in 
other  villages  ten,  or  even  five  Tommies  represented 
the  might  of  the  British  occupation." 

To  understand  just  what  conditions  existed  in  the 
city  during  those  exciting  days,  we  must  retrace  our 
steps  a  bit.  About  October  1st,  the  President  of  the 
Beirut  Municipality,  Omar  Bey  Daouk,  on  learning  of 
the  rapid  progress  of  the  British,  addressed  himself  to 
the  Turkish  Vdli  for  instructions  in  case  the  advance 
should  continue  in  the  direction  of  Beirut,  and  the 
Turkish  officials  should  deem  it  wisest  to  leave  the  city 
to  its  fate.  The  Vdli  flatly  denied  that  there  was  any 
truth  in  the  reports  of  British  successes,  and  assured 
Omar  Bey  that  he  need  not  feel  the  least  concern  in 
the  matter.  Reluctantly,  Omar  Bey  accepted  this  as  a 
dismissal,    and   returned   home.     Excitement   in   the 


282  The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

town,  however,  grew,  and  persistent  reports  of  Arab 
successes  greatly  agitated  and  inflamed  the  Arab  sym- 
pathizers among  the  populace.  Once  more  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Municipality  sought  the  Vdliy  this  time  at 
ten  o'clock  at  night.  When  Ismail  Hakki  persisted  in 
denying  that  there  was  any  cause  for  apprehension, 
Omar  Bey  became  convinced  that  the  Turks  were 
plotting  to  destroy  the  city  prior  to  their  flight,  and 
his  own  anxiety  was  enormously  increased.  As  he 
could  obtain  no  information  from  the  Vdli  there  was 
nothing  for  him  to  do  but  to  return  home  once  more. 
Upon  his  arrival  at  his  own  residence  he  found  a  tele- 
gram from  the  Sherifian  party  in  Damascus  announc- 
ing the  successes  in  that  city,  and  instructing  him  to 
seize  Beirut  for  the  King  of  the  Hedjaz.  For  a  third 
time  Omar  Bey  sought  out  the  Vdli,  but  this  time  he 
went  with  a  strong  support  of  police.  He  informed 
the  Turk  of  the  turn  events  had  taken;  and  an- 
nounced that,  if  the  Vdli  were  found  in  the  city  the 
following  morning,  it  would  be  the  painful  duty  of  the 
Municipality  to  take  him  prisoner  and  hand  him  over 
to  the  Army  of  Occupation  when  it  should  enter  the 
city.  The  Vdli,  acting  upon  this  hint,  left  that  night 
by  carriage  for  Reyak,  passing  through  on  his  way  to 
Constantinople  just  three  days  before  the  British  cap- 
ture of  that  town,  October  6th. 

All  that  night  the  President  and  the  Council  of  the 
Municipality  debated  how  to  enforce  order  in  the 
town.  The  following  morning  they  raised  the  flag  of 
the  Hedjaz  over  the  Seraiyeh,  or  Government  Build- 
ing, and  for  two  days  the  Administration  occupied  rt-* 


OMAR  BEY  DAOUK 


Dawn — The  Day  of  Syria's  Liberation     283 

self  with  the  institution  of  a  new  Moslem  govern- 
ment, and  new  laws  appropriate  to  the  occasion.  This 
kept  the  town  interested  for  a  day  or  two,  and  the 
populace  was  so  busy  celebrating  that  it  did  not  show 
any  alarming  signs  of  disorder.  On  the  fourth,  a 
British  armoured  motor-car  entered  the  city>  and  was 
greeted  with  enthusiasm  as  a  forerunner  of  the  army. 
In  a  few  hours  it  left,  but  the  public  expectation  was 
that  the  army  would  soon  put  in  an  appearance.  Two 
days  later  there  were  still  no  signs  of  a  British  occu- 
pation, and  Omar  Bey  Daouk,  fearing  disturbances  in 
the  city,  and  even  the  possible  return  of  the  Turks,  sent 
an  emissary  by  sea  to  Haifa  to  beg  the  British  to  oc- 
cupy Beirut.  The  envoy  brought  back  word  that  the 
British  would  come  the  next  day.  All  next  day  they 
were  expected,  but  failed  to  put  in  an  appearance ;  and 
it  was  not  until  the  afternoon  of  the  day  following, 
October  8th,  that  the  troops  finally  began  to  arrive. 
The  first,  a  cavalry  detachment,  came  up  the  coast 
from  Tyre  and  Sidon;  others  later  moved  in  from 
Reyak  over  the  Lebanon  range. 

Before  the  land-forces  arrived,  five  small  ships, 
three  French  and  two  British,  approached  the  coast, 
and  the  French  entered  the  harbour.  The  British  an- 
chored outside.  There  were  no  French  troops,  but  the 
French  marines  were  permitted  to  make  a  demonstra- 
tion on  shore.  As  soon  as  the  ships  had  anchored,  the 
President  of  the  Municipality  went  out  to  pay  his 
official  respects  to  the  British  units.  That  same  after- 
noon the  British  troops  entered  the  city.  Later  a  small 
detachment  of  French  who  were  allowed  to  share  in 


284         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

the  expedition  assisted  in  the  military  administration 
around  Beirut. 

Thus  Beirut  once  more  changed  hands,  and  the 
beautiful  city  which  had  known  already  so  many  dif- 
ferent masters  passed  again  into  the  keeping  of  Chris- 
tian forces.  The  country  thus  liberated  from  the 
Turkish  yoke  was  organized  under  British  Military 
control  and  administered  as  ''  Occupied  Enemy  Terri- 
tory." The  familiar  abbreviation  0.  B.  T.  A.  has 
come  into  such  general  use  that  it  deserves  to  be  in- 
cluded in  the  next  edition  of  the  dictionary!  Owing 
to  the  fact  that  Jerusalem  had  been  in  British  posses- 
sion so  many  months  before  the  tide  of  victory  ex- 
Itended  to  the  north  and  east,  there  was  ample  time  to 
.organize  an  effective  military  administration  which 
could  be  extended  to  the  territories  later  conquered. 
"  General  Allenby  first  entrusted  the  administration  of 
Southern  Palestine  to  his  Chief  Political  Officer, 
Brigadier-General  G.  F.  Clayton,  (C.  B.,  C.  M.  G.), 
who  built  up  such  measures  of  government  of  the 
civilian  populations  as  are  provided  for  in  **  The  Laws 
and  Usages  of  War  "  laid  down  by  the  international 
agreements  embodied  in  the  Hague  Convention.  This 
administration  was  entrusted  locally  to  Military  Gov- 
ernors. Later  the  work  developed  so  greatly  that  in 
April  Major-General  Sir  Arthur  Wigram  Money, 
(K.  C.  B.,  C.  S.  L),  was  appointed  Chief  Adminis- 
trator of  Occupied  Enemy  Territory  Administration, 
as  the  control  of  the  administration  could  no  longer 
be  combined  with  the  Political  Department.  After 
the  successful  campaign  in  the  north  the  Commander- 


Dawn — The  Day  of  Syria's  Liberation     285 

in-Chief  found  it  desirable  to  divide  occupied  enemy 
territory  into  three  sectors,  south,  north  and  east. 
The  respective  areas  were  administered  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  Commander-in-Chief,  by  General  Money 
from  Jerusalem,  by  Col.  P.  de  Piepape,  C.  B.  from 
Beirut,  and  by  Ali  Riza  Pasha  el  Rikabi  from  Da- 
mascus." * 

Those  of  us  who  were  in  the  country  during  the 
war,  find  it  difficult  to  believe  that  we  are  not  dream- 
ing when  we  see  the  changes  that  even  a  few  months  of 
occupation  have  wrought  in  the  land.  Only  time  can 
heal  the  wounds  caused  by  centuries  of  neglect  and  by 
the  ravages  of  a  four-year  siege ;  but  the  day  when  the 
first  British  detachment  advanced  into  Syria,  the 
rehabilitation  of  the  country  began.  Hope,  like  the 
Phoenix,  revived  from  the  ashes  of  despair;  and  with 
the  liberation  from  Turkish  oppression  came  the 
natural  human  rebound  of  courage  and  faith  for  the 
future.  The  British  army  are  welcome  guests  in  the 
land,  and  I  believe  they  have  learned  the  meaning  of 
Eastern  hospitality.  Yet  Syria  is  still  in  suspense,  for 
her  political  future  has  not  yet  been  decided,  and  until 
that  has  been  determined  there  can  be  no  definite 
progress  toward  reconstruction  or  toward  effective  or- 
ganization for  the  future. 

*"The  Advance  of  the  Egyptian  Expeditionary  Force,"  pub- 
lished by  the  Palestine  News, 


XVII 

THE  NEW  DAY 

DURING  the  war  the  attitude  of  the  average 
individual  toward  the  eventual  signing  of 
peace  was  distinctly  unreasoning.  He  argued, 
apparently,  that,  just  as  the  declaration  of  war  had 
immediately  plui^pkl  the  whole  world  into  hardships 
and  suffering,  fo  the  termination  of  hostilities  would 
effect  an  immediate  restoration  of  the  happier  condi- 
tions of  pre-war  days.  The  conclusion  of  peace  would 
bring  the  world  the  same  instantaneous  relief  that  the 
extraction  of  a  decayed  tooth  brings  to  its  suffering 
possessor.  One  good  sharp  pull  and  all  would  be  over ! 
There  were  very  few  who  realized  that  the  world  was 
suffering  from  an  abscess  which  must  ripen  before  the 
surgeon's  knife  could  prove  effective;  and  that  even 
after  the  incision  had  been  made,  "  nature  must  do  the 
rest,"  and  there  would  be  a  slow  and  painful  process 
of  healing  during  which  the  whole  system  must  un- 
dergo a  readjustment.  I  heard  an  intelligent  young 
man  say  only  yesterday  of  the  situation  in  Syria: 
"  The  war  has  been  over  nearly  a  year,  yet  conditions 
are  no  better,  and  in  some  cases  even  worse,  than  they 
were  before  the  British  came."  This  is  perfectly  true, 
and  it  is  no  reflectbn  oi\  the  British  administration 

M6 


The  New  Day  287 

which  has  already  wrought  marvels  of  benefit  for 
Syria  and  Palestine.  What  is  true  of  Syria  is  un- 
doubtedly true  of  other  countries  the  world  over. 

In  Syria  to-day  the  whole  theme  of  national  con- 
sideration is  the  Future.  The  Past  we  have  buried  out 
of  sight,  and  the  immediate  Present  concerns  us  only 
in  so  far  as  it  affects  what  is  to  come.  Everything 
hangs  in  abeyance  until  that  one  vital  question  of 
Syria's  political  fate  is  solved.  No  one  is  willing  to 
enter  upon  any  constructive  work  until  he  is  assured  of 
the  destiny  of  the  nation.  Everything  gives  evidence 
of  suspended  activity.  Only  the  mind  of  the  nation 
is  keenly  alert,  and  is  eager  to  plumb  the  unfathomed 
depths  of  the  future. 

What  was  the  future  of  yesterday  is  the  present  of 
to-day,  and  during  the  war  it  was  this  very  time  of 
which  we  expected  so  much.  In  this  respect  we  have 
all  been  disappointed,  for  we  failed  to  take  into  cal- 
culation the  length  of  time  which  must  be  spent  in 
convalescence.  The  world  has  been  mortally  ill,  and 
once  the  crisis  is  past  it  cannot  rise  immediately  from 
its  bed  and  resume  the  activities  of  normal  health. 
Syria  has  lain  at  the  point  of  death,  and  there  were 
times  when  it  seemed  incredible  that  she  should  ever 
rally.  She  has  drawn  to  the  limit  upon  her  physical 
resources,  and  it  will  take  a  long  time  to  renew  her 
exhausted  powers. 

A  year  ago  we  prayed  for  the  occupation,  and  we 
dared  not  face  the  inevitable  and  terrible  tragedy  that 
must  certainly  ensue  if  no  relief  came  before  winter. 
The  autumn  brought  liberation  from  the  Turk ;  but  no 


288        ^The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

military  occupation,  however  welcome  and  beneficent, 
can  free  a  country  from  the  consequences  of  the  in- 
exorable physical  laws  of  the  universe.  Moreover,  the 
occupation  of  Syria,  and  even  the  signing  of  peace 
with  Germany,  do  not  yet  mean  the  end  of  the  war. 
Armies  are  still  mobilized,  and  are  in  the  field  in  Russia 
and  Afghanistan.  Internal  conditions  all  over  the 
world  indicate  national  unrest;  and  the  traveller  who 
must  submit  to  endless  red-tape  in  the  matter  of  vises, 
permits,  etc.,  realizes  that  a  state  of  war  still  exists 
even  after  hostilities  have  technically  terminated.  The 
British  occupation  of  Syria  in  the  autumn  proved  the 
salvation  of  vast  numbers  during  the  following  winter; 
but  one  of  the  greatest  fallacies,  both  at  home  and 
abroad,  is  the  assumption  that,  because  the  Turk  has 
been  driven  out  of  the  country  and  the  Entente  has 
taken  possession,  Syria  can  now  be  regarded  as  amply 
provided  for,  and  is  no  longer  in  need  of  assistance 
from  outside. 

Before  touching  on  the  subject  of  primary  im- 
portance to  all  those  who  love  Syria  and  are  interested 
in  her  welfare,  let  me  first  explain  what  I  mean  by 
saying  that  Syria  has  hardly  begun  to  recover  from 
the  effects  of  the  war,  and  that  she  still  needs  all  the 
sympathy,  cooperation,  and  philanthropy  which  have 
been  accorded  her  during  the  past  four  years.  The 
most  striking  illustration  of  Syria's  need  which  oc- 
curs to  me  is  the  simile  that  some  one  used  recently 
in  a  discussion  of  this  very  problem.  He  was  plead- 
ing for  continued  American  relief  support,  and  he 
said:  "As  soon  as  a  child  learns  to  take  its  first  step 


The  New  Day  289 

do  we  expect  that  it  will  thenceforth  be  able  to  walk 
alone  without  further  assistance  from  parents  or 
nurse  ?  "  Perhaps  it  would  be  even  more  pertinent  to 
inquire,  whether  a  man  who  is  too  poor  to  provide 
himself  with  medicines  or  with  the  delicacies  of  in- 
valid diet,  should  forgo  charitable  assistance  as  soon 
as  he  is  able  to  partake  of  solid  food?  What  about 
the  expensive  dainties  which  he  must  have  to  enable 
him  to  recover  his  strength  ? 

The  whole  world  has  been  hard  hit  by  the  war,  and 
there  are  certain  regions  which  have  suffered  more  than 
others.  So  great  is  the  distress  in  some  localities  that 
American  philanthropy  has  been  forced  to  confine  its 
support  to  the  cases  of  most  desperate  need.  The 
Caucasus  still  needs  millions  of  dollars  of  American 
money;  and  if  one  believes  the  reports,  even  millions 
are  hardly  more  than  a  drop  in  the  bucket.  In  Syria, 
however,  a  few  hundred  thousands  will  go  a  long  way, 
and  will  prove  the  salvation  of  numbers  of  intelli- 
gent and  worthy  citizens.  One  of  the  members  of  the 
American  Relief  Committee  in  Beirut  was  requested 
by  the  Committee  to  prepare  a  careful  survey  of  actual 
conditions  in  the  country  at  the  present  time,  with  sug- 
gestions as  to  how  best  to  meet  the  need.  His  find- 
ings may  be  summarized  as  follows : 

During  the  winter  that  is  ahead  of  us  (1919-20) 
there  will  be  an  appalling  number  of  families  in  great 
distress.  They  are  without  houses,  without  bedding, 
without  a  change  of  clothing,  without  a  single  cook- 
ing utensil,  and  have  absolutely  no  resources  with 
which  to  procure  the  barest  necessities.     They  have 


290         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

already  sold  everything  they  possess.  They  have 
worried  along  during  the  summer  while  they  could 
live  out-of-doors,  when  a  single  garment  sufficed  as  a 
concession  to  decency,  while  there  were  fruits  and 
vegetables  to  be  had  for  the  asking,  and  while  a  cooked 
meal  was  not  indispensable.  But  how  are  they  going 
to  face  the  winter?  They  have  neither  shelter,  food, 
nor  clothing.  There  is  no  work,  for  the  industries  of 
the  country  have  not  yet  been  resumed,  and  cannot  be 
for  some  time  to  come.  These  people  are  not  the 
habitually  indigent,  but  may  be  described  as  the  upper 
lower  class.  The  lowest  class,  representing  the  paupers 
of  war-days,  is  now  better  off  than  its  social  superiors. 
It  exists  in  a  state  of  animal  contentment.  The  v/ork 
of  public  improvements,  which  was  suspended  during 
the  period  of  the  war,  has  provided  employment  for 
the  physically  fit,  the  day-labourer.  The  wages  which 
repay  his  exhausting  drudgery  suffice  to  keep  him  and 
his  family  in  food,  and  he  is  not  inconvenienced  by 
cultivated  instincts  which  demand  luxuries,  or  com- 
forts, or  any  of  the  refinements  of  life.  For  the  mo- 
ment, the  army  provides  employment  for  the  men  of 
what  we  might  call  the  educated  class;  and  as  in- 
terpreters, and  clerks,  they  are  well  paid.  There  re- 
mains still  a  social  stratum  midway  between  these 
two,  comprising  those  who  have  learned  to  live  re- 
spectably, who  cannot  go  in  rags,  or  beg,  and  who  are 
not  physically  capable  of  the  type  of  manual  work 
which  provides  for  the  day-labourer.  For  the  sake  of 
outward  respectability  these  people  have  provided 
themselves  with  decent  clothing,   even  though  they 


The  New  Day  291 

have  had  to  go  without  food  to  do  so.  They  cannot 
hold  out  much  longer.  Death  is  ahead,  but  they  face 
it  bravely,  and  without  complaint.  They  are  too  proud 
to  solicit  charity,  and  yet  they  are  the  very  ones  who, 
for  the  sake  of  the  country,  should  be  saved  for  future 
usefulness. 

Leaving  out  of  account  the  better-to-do  classes  of 
society — ^merchants,  business  and  professional  men — 
and  confining  our  attention  to  the  two  lower  strata  we 
find  that  the  lowest,  or  pauper  class,  is  at  present  pro- 
vided for.  There  is  a  second  class  of  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  deserving  and  desirable  citizens  who  must 
perish  unless  they  receive  immediate  assistance,  but 
who  can  be  set  on  their  feet  by  a  comparatively  small 
outlay.  If  this  class  of  people  can  be  equipped  with 
the  bare  necessities  of  life,  and  provided  with  em- 
ployment, they  will  soon  be  capable  of  self-sup- 
port. 

The  one  thing  that  prevents  Syria  from  rising  un- 
aided to  her  feet  is  the  fact  that  there  is  no  possible 
means  by  which  she  can  provide  employment  for  all 
who  must  work  to  live.  For  the  past  few  months,  and 
for  a  few  months  yet  to  come,  there  has  been  employ- 
ment for  a  limited  number  of  able-bodied  men  in  neces- 
sary forms  of  work  which  were  deferred  during  the 
war,  but  which  must  now  be  continued.  This  includes 
the  building  and  repair  of  roads,  repairs  and  altera- 
tions on  public  buildings,  completion  of  houses  started 
before  the  war  but  never  finished,  repairs  on  walls, 
property,  etc.  But  all  these  things  will  eventually  be 
finished ;  and  until  the  political  fate  of  Syria  is  settled 


29^         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

nothing  new  will  be  commenced.  Even  the  fact  that 
the  population  has  decreased  by  nearly  fifty  per  cent 
only  partially  contributes  toward  solving  the  problem 
of  labour.  While  there  are  fewer  men  to  compete 
for  employment,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  certain 
industries  which  have  been  completely  destroyed,  or 
so  crippled  that  they  can  no  longer  provide  for  the 
numbers  that  they  supported  before  the  war.  For 
instance,  the  silk  industry  for  which  Syria  was  once 
famous,  and  which  proved  a  source  of  tremendous  in- 
come, is  now  destroyed.  The  mulberry  trees,  the 
leaves  of  which  provide  the  one  item  of  the  silkworm's 
diet,  have  either  been  cut  down  for  fuel  or  have  been 
so  damaged  by  mistreatment  and  neglect  that  the 
leaves  are  no  longer  good  for  silkworm  cultivation.  It 
was  hoped  that  after  the  war,  when  it  would  be  pos- 
sible to  secure  good  eggs  from  Europe,  the  industry 
would  revive,  but  this  injury  to  the  trees  is  a  handicap 
which  only  time  can  correct.  All  over  the  country  the 
silk  factories  have  been  dismantled,  and  in  some  cases 
completely  destroyed.  The  rehabilitation  of  the  silk 
industry  will  require  years,  and  of  course,  considerable 
capital.  What  is  true  of  this  industry  is  true  also  of 
others. 

The  Lebanon  Mountains,  always  sparsely  forested, 
are  rapidly  becoming  denuded.  During  the  war  the 
Turks  and  the  Germans  felled  the  trees  for  fuel  on  the 
railways,  and  to-day  the  British  lorries  are  carrying 
hundreds  of  tons  from  the  pitiful  little  forests  in  the 
mountains.  This  loss  of  timber  will  eventually  affect 
the  climate,  and  even  where  young  trees  have  already 


The  New  Day  293 

started,  it  will  be  decades  before  the  forests  can  be 
restored. 

The  only  hope  for  the  country,  therefore,  lies  in  as- 
sistance from  the  outer  world.  Foreign  capital  must 
contribute  toward  developing  its  natural  resources; 
and  trade  with  Europe,  America  and  South  America 
must  rehabilitate  the  depleted  finances  of  this  im- 
poverished land.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  why  it  is 
that  Syria  is  awaiting  with  impatience  the  decision  in 
Paris  in  regard  to  her  national  status.  Syria  herself 
realizes  that  she  is  not  at  present  in  a  condition  for 
self-government,  and  her  one  desire  is  for  protection 
and  guidance  under  an  acceptable  mandate.  There 
are  many  indications  that  Syria  deserves  to  be  con- 
sulted in  regard  to  her  destiny.  Less  than  a  year  has 
elapsed  since  the  departure  of  the  Turk,  but  in  that 
year  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  country  that  are 
almost  unbelievable  to  one  who  knew  it  at  the  lowest 
ebb  of  its  existence.  During  the  Ottoman  regime 
there  was  no  political  cohesion  among  the  Syrians. 
Racial  and  sectarian  disagreements  were  paramount 
over  national  considerations,  and  the  true  patriot 
despaired,  doubting  whether  anything  could  weld  to- 
gether these  antagonistic  factions.  The  curse  of 
Syria  has  always  been  the  religious  fanaticism  of  her 
various  sects.  The  increasing  nationalistic  tendency 
of  to-day  is,  therefore,  by  far  the  most  hopeful  sign 
that  Syria  possesses  latent  elements  of  strength,  and  a 
spark  of  that  divine  fire  which,  if  properly  fostered, 
will  flame  into  national  enthusiasm  and  patriotism. 

There  is  only  one  topic  of  conversation  in  all  Syria 


294         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

to-day,  and  that  is  the  political  fate  of  the  country. 
Moslem,  Druze,  and  all  sects  of  Christians,  with  but 
one  notable  exception,  are  united  in  their  demand  for 
an  undivided  Syria  under  an  acceptable  mandate. 
They  have  very  positive  ideas  as  to  what  would  be  an 
acceptable  mandatory  power.  The  choice  lies  be- 
tween two  nations,  England  and  America.  The  find- 
ings of  the  Commission  appointed  by  the  Peace  Con- 
ference to  study  the  public  sentiment  of  Syria,  which 
visited  us  in  the  summer  of  1919,  show  an  overwhelm- 
ing majority  in  favour  of  the  United  States,  with 
England  as  an  acceptable  alternative.  It  is  probably 
not  included  in  the  report  of  the  Commission,  but  it 
is  a  well-known  fact  in  the  country  that  any  other  ar- 
rangement for  the  political  future  of  Syria  will  result 
in  bloodshed  and  in  a  duplication  of  the  Balkan  prob- 
lem. 

Syria  is  only  one  of  the  many  small  nations  that 
has  staked  her  future  on  America's  good  faith  in  abid- 
ing by  President  Wilson's  "  Fourteen  Points,"  and  so 
great  is  Syria's  confidence  in  America's  loyalty  to 
principle  that  she  is  willing  to  entrust  her  national  ex- 
istence into  our  keeping.  The  President  of  the  United 
States  has  given  utterance  to  principles  of  justice  which 
offer  a  hope  of  salvation  to  all  national  units  that  have 
been  the  victims  of  political  oppression  and  injustice, 
and  Syria  understands  the  principles  which  America 
stands  for  and  is  willing  to  accept  her  guardianship. 

On  the  other  hand,  she  admires  and  respects  Great 
Britain,  and  sees  all  about  her  the  beneficent  results  of 
British  rule  in  Egypt  and  India.     She  is  confident 


The  New  Day  295 

that  as  a  British  protectorate  she  likewise  would 
flourish.  The  question  yet  to  be  answered,  however,  is 
whether  Britain  can  assume  any  further  responsibili- 
ties than  those  she  has  already  shouldered,  and  whether 
she  will  be  willing  to  accept  another  charge.  Britain 
already  bears  a  resemblance  to  the  Old  Woman  Who 
Lived  in  a  Shoe,  and  she  may  feel  that  she  has  her 
hands  quite  full  enough  as  it  is. 

There  is  one  arrangement,  however,  for  Syria's 
future  which  will  never  be  acceptable  to  the  people, 
and  that  is  a  settlement  which  will  necessitate  the 
division  of  her  territory.  Fear  of  such  a  contingency 
has  frequently  given  rise  to  the  rumour  that  Palestine 
was  to  be  constituted  a  separate  state  under  a  separate 
administration,  Damascus  another,  and  northwestern 
Syria  (enlarged  Lebanon)  yet  a  third.  Great  has 
been  the  national  lamentation  wherever  this  report  has 
been  given  credence.  The  slogan  of  the  nationalistic 
party  is  first  and  foremost  "  Syria  undivided."  Any 
refusal  of  this  demand  will  lead  to  unrest,  and  in  time 
to  bloodshed,  unless  the  cause  of  dissatisfaction  be  re- 
moved. France's  commercial  interests  have  led  her 
diplomats  to  hope  that  Syria's  choice  might  be  ac- 
corded to  her ;  but,  except  for  a  portion  of  the  Maron- 
ite  sect,  there  is  no  enthusiasm  for  France,  especially 
since  her  economic  condition  is  not  such  as  to  enable 
her  to  undertake  the  rehabilitation  of  such  an  im- 
poverished country. 

The  question  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  those  who 
are  interested  in  the  Syrian  problem  is  undoubtedly 
this:  Is  Syria  capable  of  self-government  even  under 


296         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

a  mandatory  power?  It  is  true  that  her  apparent 
weakness  under  Turkish  administration  may  argue 
her  unfitness  for  political  responsibility.  There  seems 
to  be  only  one  answer  to  that  objection,  namely,  that 
the  character  of  Turkish  control  was  such  as  to  crush 
the  heart  out  of  every  subject  race.  What  has  been 
true  of  Syria  was  true  of  Egypt  before  the  British 
intervention,  was  true  also  of  the  Balkan  provinces  of 
Turkey  before  they  attained  their  independence,  was 
true  of  Armenia  as  well.  One  has  only  to  observe  re- 
sults when  a  Syrian  is  removed  from  his  Turkish 
milieu  to  a  more  stimulating  environment.  Look  at 
the  Syrian  in  Egypt.  Every  one  who  knows  anything 
about  the  Near  East  knows  that  he  has  succeeded. 
Kitchener  is  said  to  have  asserted  that  but  for  the 
educated  Syrians  in  the  country,  Egypt  would  be 
forty  years  behind  her  present  position.  The  Syrians 
are  among  the  most  influential  men  in  that  land. 
They  hold  positions  second  only  to  the  British  in  in- 
portance.  In  politics,  in  business,  in  social  life  the 
Syrian  community  of  a  city  like  Cairo  is  sound  to  the 
tore,  and  is  an  example  to  the  Egyptians  that  they 
might  well  follow. 

In  America  the  Syrians  have  an  excellent  record. 
I  have  been  told  that  police  statistics  in  a  city  like  New 
York  rate  them  among  the  lowest  in  the  average  of 
crime.  They  take  to  business  like  ducks  to  water ;  and 
as  far  as  my  experience  has  gone  with  Syrian  busi- 
ness men  from  America,  they  are  honest,  thrifty,  and 
loyal  to  our  Government.  One  of  them,  whom  I  now 
number  among  my  acquaintances  here,  was  actually 


The  New  Day  297 

mayor  of  his  town  in  the  United  States.  This  has 
been  true  not  merely  of  exceptional  individuals,  but 
of  the  race  as  a  whole,  and  therefore  it  is  not  a  great 
strain  on  the  imagination  to  assume  that,  if  the  Syrians 
can  make  good  citizens  abroad,  they  can  make  good 
citizens  at  home  if  given  a  proper  chance.  When  the 
fate  of  the  country  is  once  decisively  settled,  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  the  Syrians  overseas  will  be  animated 
by  patriotic  responsibility,  and  that  each  will  do  his 
share  to  help  his  native  land.  Some  may  best  serve 
the  interests  of  their  country  by  returning  there  to  live. 
Others  may  prove  more  serviceable  where  they  are, 
but  it  will  not  be  in  keeping  with  the  Syrian  character 
as  I  understand  it  if  they  fail  to  support  their  nation 
to  the  very  limit  of  their  resources  in  so  important  a 
crisis  of  its  history. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  Syria's  right  to  self-determina- 
tion is  disregarded,  and  the  nation  is  forced  under  an 
administration  that  is  generally  unpopular,  it  is  a  fore- 
gone conclusion  that  the  most  desirable  types  of  Syrian 
citizens  will  emigrate  to  other  countries.  They  have 
suffered  too  long  under  a  pernicious  system  of  govern- 
ment to  risk  remaining  in  the  country  under  such 
baneful  circumstances.     Then  indeed  is  Syria  doomed ! 

The  present  crying  need  is  a  complete  reorganization 
of  the  administration,  and  the  removal  from  office  of 
those  local  officials  who  served  under  the  Turks,  and 
who  have  been  allowed  by  the  O.  B.  T.  A.  to  remain  in 
office.  They  are,  almost  without  exception,  "grafters" 
and  "  crooks."  In  the  day  of  the  Turk  they  abused 
their  power  and  preyed  upon  the  people.     To-day  the 


298         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

same  men,  or  men  of  the  same  spirit,  conduct  the  ad- 
ministration along  Turkish  lines.  Syria  needs  a  polit- 
ical house-cleaning,  and  she  has  a  right  to  demand  that 
the  power  of  the  country  should  be  entrusted  to  those 
who  are  fit  to  govern,  and  not  to  the  worst  type  of 
political  "  boss." 

Does  America  realize  the  status  of  Syria  to-day? 
The  Syrians  represent  the  highest  type  of  culture  and 
intelligence  in  the  Arabic-speaking  world,  which  com- 
prises one-fifteenth  of  the  population  of  the  globe. 
They  are  born  to  be  leaders  of  the  Arab  race,  and  that 
means  not  merely  the  inhabitants  of  Syria  and  Arabia, 
but  also  of  Africa,  India,  Persia,  and  hundreds  of 
colonies  in  islands  of  the  East,  in  South  America,  and 
in  the  United  States.  They  might  almost  be  con- 
sidered the  leaven  of  the  Orient.  The  Arab  world  of 
the  future  must  look  to  the  Syrian  race,  which  is 
capable  of  such  great  cultural  development,  for  its 
leaders  in  science,  philanthropy,  and  politics,  and  for 
the  statesmen  who  alone  can  master  the  complicated 
problems  of  Pan-Arabia.  There  is  no  country  in  the 
world  open  to  American  influence  where  such  far- 
reaching  results  can  be  obtained  as  through  an  Amer- 
ican mandate  over  Syria.  Here  is  a  nation  of  per- 
haps two  million  people  capable  of  developing  into 
the  finest  type  of  world-citizens,  awakened  to  a  sense 
of  responsibility,  and  to  a  patriotic  enthusiasm, 
clamouring  for  the  right  to  live  a  peaceful  and  honour- 
able life.  If  Syria  turns  to  America  with  a  prayer 
for  assistance  shall  we  lend  a  deaf  ear?  Shall  we 
condemn  her  to  exploitation  by  unscrupulous  Powers 


The  New  Day  299 

who  have  no  interest  in  her  welfare,  but  who  labour 
only  for  their  own  selfish  ends?  Shall  we  abandon 
those  glorious  "  Fourteen  Points  "  at  the  first  test  of 
their  sincerity?  Or  shall  we  use  all  our  influence  to 
see  that  Syria  gets  justice  ? 

Life  in  Syria  is  at  a  standstill  until  this  vital  ques- 
tion is  answered.  If  England  agrees  to  assume  a 
protectorate,  as  in  Egypt,  all  will  be  well,  and  a  new 
era  of  national  prosperity  and  enthusiasm  will  open  up. 
The  Syrians  know  and  understand  the  British  rule  as 
they  see  it  in  the  countries  that  are  their  nearest  neigh- 
bours, and  they  will  welcome  a  British  mandate.  It 
only  rests  with  England  to  determine  whether  she  can 
add  this  to  the  many  burdens  she  already  bears. 

Or  shall  it  be  a  self-governing  Syria  under  American 
guidance,  with  the  backing  of  America's  vast  wealth, 
her  systems  of  justice,  tolerance,  and  education? 
America,  no  less  than  England,  will  be  acceptable  as  a 
disinterested  friend,  with  no  political  ambitions  in  this 
part  of  the  world,  who  has  laid  aside  her  national 
exclusiveness  for  the  sake  of  lending  a  hand  to  a 
sister-nation  that  is  in  desperate  need  of  aid. 

The  time  for  the  decision  cannot  be  far  distant,  and 
for  the  sake  of  Syria,  we  all  hope  that  her  fate  may 
soon  be  determined.  There  is  a  faint  light  in  the  sky 
which  gives  promise  of  the  coming  dawn.  This  gray 
glimmer  has  been  visible  for  some  time,  and  the  im- 
patient watcher  wonders  what  has  happened  to  delay 
the  sun.  Every  one  knows  how  wearisome  is  such  an 
interval  of  suspense.  Light  has  come,  but  it  is  still 
too  early  to  tell  whether  the  sun  will  rise  clear  and 


300         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 

fair,  or  whether  he  will  be  veiled  in  clouds.  We  are 
watchers  before  the  dawn  in  Syria,  but  we  do  not  yet 
know  whether  our  day  is  to  be  one  of  sunshine  or 
of  storm. 


EXTRAORDINARY  WAR  PRICES  IN  SYRIA  AND 
CONSTANTINOPLE,  1917-18 

Article                     Amt.              Pre-war  Extreme  price 

price  in  dollars 

Beans    lib.            $.04^  $0.75 

Belting  for  dress...    1yd.               .09  .95 

Blankets,  cotton,  crib     1                      .80  9.00 

Candles    each                   .04J^  .36 

Caning  a  chair 1                      .80  12.00 

Charcoal    100  lbs.             1.15  9.00 

Chocolate,   sweet....    1  cake            .21  2.10 

Coffee    lft>.                .23  6.00 

Cotton,  absorbent...  50  gms.            .18  1.20 

"         flannel    1yd.                .13  1.95 

"         muslin    1yd.               .13  4.05 

spool    600  yds.              .05^  5.00 

Cream  of  tartar lib.                .09  1.80 

Eggs    each                  .01  .45 

Elastic  for  garters..     1yd.                .11  2.40 

Embroidery  cotton..    1  skein           .04^4  .73 

Flour    6  lbs.              .15  10.50 

Hats,    straw,   untrimmed                    .80  7.50 

Honey    lib.                 .14  1.20 

Kerosene    9  gals.           1.80  180.00 

"          retail    1  cupful  1.20 

Macaroni    1  lb.                .05  1.05 

Machine  needles each                   .03  .22 

Matches,  safety 1  small  box   .09(doz.)  .15  each 

Milk    Iqt.                 .05  2.40 

Milk,  Nestle's 1  tin               .35  7.50  in  Aleppo 

Medicines: 

Alcohol    Iqt.  1.60 

Cod  Liver  Oil ... .     1  bottle  8.25 

Cuticura    Oint 1  box  1.20 

Epsom   Salts lease         22.50  1500.00  Bid,  held 

for  higfher  bid 

Eye   dropper 1  glass  1.20 

Glycerine     30  gms.  .50 

Iodine    30  gms.  .30 

Lysol    1  smallest  size  1.05 

Toothpaste    1  small  tube  1.60 

Tooth  brush 1  1.20 

Quinine    2  grain  tablet  1.60 

301 


302         The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  Syria 


ArticU 


Ami. 


Pre-war  Extreme  price 


price 

in  dollars 

Molasses,    Native... 

lib. 

.16 

1.05 

Mosquito    net 

1 

4.00 

24.00 

Nails,   large 

lib. 

.20 

7.50 

Olive    Oil 

iqt. 

.14 

1.05 

Onions,    dried 

lib. 

.03 

.40 

Razor   blades 

Idoz. 

1.60 

4.50 

Rice    

lib. 

.05 

1.50 

Salt,    rock 

6  lbs. 

.06 

.90 

"      table    

lib. 

.03 

1.50 

Soap,    laundry 

1  cake 

.08 

.60 

"       toilet    

Icake 

.10 

2.40 

Shaving  Soap 

Icake 

.10 

.60 

Shoes,    men's 

Ipr. 

78.00 

"        women's   . . . 

ipr. 

45.00 

child's    

Ipr. 

15.00 

Stockings,    women's. 

1  pr.  lisle 

7.50 

Silk  socks,  men 

Ipr. 

2.55 

Socks,  cotton,  child's 

Ipr. 

1.75 

Silk    

1yd. 

1.50 

24.00 

Soda    

lib. 

.15 

4.20 

Starch,  laundry 

lib. 

.22 

6.00 

Sugar    ,.. 

lib. 

.06 

4.50 

Sweater,   worsted... 

1 

15.00 

silk    

1 

75.00 

Tea  

lib. 

.80 

12.75 

Tin  bowl,  28" 

.50 

4.60 

Towels,  small  bath. 

1 

3.00 

Turkey,  alive 

I5ibs. 

4.50 

13.50 

Typewriter    ribbon.. 

1 

.50-.75 

20.00 

Underwear,  woolen. 

Isuit 

30.00 

"             gauze    . 

1  shirt 

.35 

3.75 

"    child's  gauze 

1  shirt 

.20 

2.40 

Woolen   suitings .... 

1yd. 

2.00 

36.00 

'*        overcoat    . . 

1  man's 

15.00 

145.00  minimum 

tt                       u 

1  ladies' 

15.00 

75.00 

^  N.  B. — Most  of  the  prices  quoted  are  for  Beirut.  Constan- 
tinople prices  do  not  differ  much  from  those  in  Syria  at  the 
same  time. 


Printed  in  the  U-**"^.  States  of  America 


.— ^sr-  -""•" 


207rt-l,'22 


YC  3840'4 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNIA  UBRARY 


